By Kara Greenwald, MD
Faculty Peer Reviewed
Good morning. As the snow melts away from New York City and the sun can once again shine on the city streets that we take for granted, the US Medical Community is too re-examining practice standards that we take for granted. This purposeful reflection seems to be an attempt to expand evidence-based practice, improve patient outcomes and reduce health-care expenditures. This week several groups provided new perspective on old issues including the…
By Santosh Vardhana
Faculty Peer Reviewed
After the greatest professional sporting day of the year, count on Primecuts to bring football and medical science together without the requisite discussion of dementia pugilistica! As all-time great Packers’ coach Vince Lombardi said, “The best defense is a great offense.” Numerous articles in the past few weeks may help arm physicians with better offensive weapons for the attack against inflammation, infectious disease, and cardiovascular disease.
New strategies have been few…
By Matt Johnson, MD
Faculty Peer Reviewed
After surveying the bevy of medical literature this week, a common theme that emerged was that of the many disparities in the world of global health.
In the New York Times, there was an article about the impact of “lady health workers,” as they are called in Pakistan, on maternal and newborn health . This was based on a study published in The Lancet which evaluated the effectiveness of…
By Jeff Shyu, MD
Faculty Peer Reviewed
This past week saw the passage of the Health Care Repeal Act by the now Republican led House of Representatives. This symbolic gesture has little chance of surviving the Senate but almost certainly represents the opening salvo in what will likely be two more years of horse-trading over the legislation, leading up to the 2012 presidential election. One would hope that this next round of debate will contain less vitriol in light of…
By Keri Herzog, MD
Faculty Peer Reviewed
This past week we watched the nation come together following the shootings in Tucson, Arizona. President Obama eulogized those killed in the tragedy and urged us to ensure that we are “talking with each other in a way that heals.” As a grieving nation struggled to find meaning in the actions of a troubled young assassin, the President also reminded us that “terrible things happen for reasons that defy human understanding.” While…
By Michelle Scott, MD
Faculty Peer Reviewed
It’s a new year and while our resolutions are meant to give us a fresh start- curb our spending, shed a few pounds, call our family more often- the reality is you don’t feel any different. You look the same, weigh the same (okay, maybe you’re a few pounds heavier after the holidays), have the same daily routine, but things are changing and fast. Where? On the hill. This past Wednesday, John…
By Ely Felker, MD
Faculty Peer Reviewed
Another holiday season has come and gone. As the ball dropped in Times Square, end-of-the-year celebration gave way to New Year’s resolutions and self-recriminations; because as sure as the holidays are a time of joy and cheer, they are also a time of indulgences, especially dietary indulgences. Since so many resolutions this year will center on diet and weight loss, this week’s Primecuts will highlight some recent developments in the war…
By Ilya Lim, MD
As the New Year rolls around, many people are making New Year’s resolutions aimed at preventing weight gain, excessive spending, or indulging in other guilty pleasures. Likewise, in this week’s medical literature, prevention is the recurring theme.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) remain significant preventable sources of morbidity and mortality. Luckily, new tools in our arsenal against venous thromboembolic (VTE) disease such as specific factor Xa inhibitors continue to make splashes in the…
By: Josephine Ni, MD
Faculty Peer Reviewed
This week has been all about making progress and how one step forward is often accompanied by one step backwards. This was clearly illustrated as two particularly controversial pieces of legislation were voted on by the senate; Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed as the DREAM act failed to pass. Like the political news, the medical articles that made headlines this week had both steps forwards and steps backwards.
First the steps…
By Joshua Strauss, MD
Faculty peer reviewed
Don’t smoke! We all know this by now, but this past week the surgeon general released her yearly report about why this continues to be the case . The report is a reminder to talk to our smoking patients at each visit about cessation. Highlights of the 700-page report include a note that there is no risk-free level of exposure to tobacco smoke – the report details how tobacco smoke is carcinogenic,…
By Samit Shah, MD
Faculty Peer Reviewed
‘Tis the season to be merry and enjoy all the wonderful aspects of the holidays, such as shopping, bright lights, holiday music, family, friends and of course food! As the festive season approaches, our natural inclinations for indulgent behaviors often go unchecked, leading us to do some damage on our waistlines. Fortunately, Primecuts has arrived in the nick of time to report some developments in our battle against obesity.
Traditionally,…
By Han Na Kim, MD
Faculty Peer Reviewed
Had to drag yourself to work today after a nice Thanksgiving break? Next holiday isn’t coming soon enough for you? Primecuts is here to bring you exciting medical headlines to get you through until Christmas!
Antiretroviral chemoprophylaxis before exposure may decrease but not eliminate HIV transmission risk in HIV-seronegative men and transgender women who have sex with men, the New England Journal of Medicine finds . This multinational study…
