Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Atherosclerosis

August 17, 2012
Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Atherosclerosis

By Michael Malone

Faculty Peer Reviewed

Omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been popularized in recent years as beneficial nutrients with cardioprotective effects. Omega-3 PUFAs are so named because of a double bond between the 3rd and 4th carbon of the polycarbon chain. They are “poly-unsaturated” with hydrogen atoms, as their carbon chains contain multiple double bonds. Three omega-3 long chain PUFAs are typically discussed in the context of medical therapy, the first being alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). ALA is an essential precursor omega-3…

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Xopenex: Is it worth the money?

August 16, 2012
Xopenex: Is it worth the money?

By Han Na Kim

Faculty Peer Reviewed

Case:

The patient is a 50-year-old woman with history of steroid-dependent, severe, persistent asthma since childhood and coronary artery disease who presented with dyspnea and URI symptoms admitted for management of asthma exacerbation. Patient received nebulized albuterol treatment every two to four hours, and on hospital day two, patient developed persistent sinus tachycardia to heart rate of 120s believed to be secondary to albuterol therapy. Given her tachycardia, would it be safer to prescribe levalbuterol rather than…

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Primecuts – This Week In The Journals

August 13, 2012
Primecuts – This Week In The Journals

By Joshua Lader, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

In March 1974, US Department of Defense officials described to author John Finney a “revolution in conventional warfare possibilities brought about by a new generation of ‘smart bombs’…so precise that one shot will destroy a target.” An expected corollary of this new technology (although debatably achieved) was the decrease in military resources that would be required to achieve a particular military objective.

So too are we entering an era characterized increasingly by targeted therapeutics. In the latest issue…

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From The Archives – Ask a Librarian: What are the Key Resources for Clinical Decision Making?

August 9, 2012
From The Archives – Ask a Librarian: What are the Key Resources for Clinical Decision Making?

Please enjoy this post from the archives dated July 14, 2010

By Aileen McCrillis, MSLIS

Faculty Peer Reviewed

In order to ensure the best-quality healthcare for patients, it is important for clinicians to consult the highest level of evidence to guide them in the decision-making process. As the volume of biomedical literature increases over time, it becomes more and more difficult for the clinician to identify the best evidence.

Many different types of clinical decision-making resources are now available to clinicians through the Internet.…

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Myth VS. Reality: The July Effect

August 8, 2012
Myth VS. Reality: The July Effect

By Mark Adelman, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

Another July 1st has come and gone, marking the yearly transition in US graduate medical education of interns to junior residents, junior residents to senior residents, and senior residents to fellows. With this annual mid-summer mass influx of nearly 37,000 interns and other trainees taking on new clinical responsibilities, learning to use different electronic medical record systems and navigating the other idiosyncrasies of unfamiliar institutions, one cannot help but wonder what implications this may have on patient…

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Primecuts – This Week In The Journals

August 6, 2012
Primecuts – This Week In The Journals

By Syril Keena Que, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

This week’s Primecuts starts with Olympic highlights from the past week. In gymnastics, Gabby Douglas won the gold medal for women’s individual all-around while the women held their own and took team gold. Michael Phelps won his 4th gold medal of the London Games and the 18th gold medal of his career. Another athlete worthy of mention is Dana Vollmer, who set a world record by being the first woman to finish the 100-meter butterfly in less…

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Medicine’s Favorite Default Diagnosis: Non-compliance

August 2, 2012
Medicine’s Favorite Default Diagnosis: Non-compliance

By Robert Keller

Faculty Peer Reviewed

In a small examination room on the Ambulatory Care floor of a large hospital in Brooklyn, I greet Ms. S, a 53-year-old Jamaican woman, as she walks through the door and plops herself down in the chair across from me. Having spent 20 minutes perusing her chart, I know that she suffers from morbid obesity, uncontrolled hypertension (blood pressure 165/95), and terrible diabetes (A1c 13.8%). I have already concluded that her worsening condition over the past 5 years, despite…

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Primecuts – This Week In The Journals

July 31, 2012
Primecuts – This Week In The Journals

By Benjamin P. Geisler, MD, MPH

Faculty peer-reviewed

July 28th was World Hepatitis Day. Just three days prior, a group of researchers from Johns Hopkins published a paper in JAMA on HCV/HIV co-infected patients. This study demonstrated an independent correlation between hepatic fibrosis stage and a composite endpoint of end-stage liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, or death. As the authors note, these results support starting highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) for HIV in “most coinfected” patients.

Also last week, the 19th International AIDS Conference took place…

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