A 56-year-old man presented to the ED with a 1-week history of dark-colored urine and acholic stools followed by 3 days of intermittent right upper quadrant abdominal pain and overt jaundice. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography demonstrated… Read More
For 3 weeks, a previously healthy 24-year-old man had repeated episodes of nonbloody, nonbilious emesis. He denied dysphagia, but he did report a 40-lb (18-kg) weight loss and heartburn. A barium swallow showed the classic “bird's beak” appearance of the distal esophagus with proximal… Read More
An association between non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and these two inflammatory bowel disorders has long been suspected but not, until now, documented. More »
Ulcerative colitis patients with chronic pouchitis after restorative proctocolectomy are at risk of dysplasia and need to be monitored regularly. More »
A 6-month-old presents with episodes of recurrent head deviation to one side followed by irritability. These episodes may last for days. Both mother and aunt have migraine headaches. Examination and imaging are normal. An electroencephalogram during the event is normal. Is there a clue to the... More »
Ulcerative colitis has a greater impact on patients’ quality of life than physicians perceive, and the disease affects their lives even more than the impact of other chronic conditions, according to paired surveys of doctors and patients. More »
A 10-year old child presents with episodes of intense bilateral frontal headache accompanied by severe retching at onset that is followed by frequent bouts of emesis. She is well between headaches and results of her neurologic examination are normal. What do you suspect? More »
Christopher Pleyer, MD, from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, summarizes his part in the plenary session "Observer Bias in the Diagnosis of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and Functional Dyspepsia" at ACG 2011. Distinguishing GERD from other upper GI problems is crucial, he explains.
Is obesity really leading to an increase in GERD? Or, has GERD just become a catch-all phrase for all sorts of upper GI distress? Has GERD become the new "dyspepsia"? G. Richard Locke, MD, FACG, from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, discusses his findings as presented at the ACG 2011 program.
Optic neuritis is an inflammatory disease of the optic nerve characterized by sudden vision loss over several hours or days. The objective of this review was to assess the effectiveness of corticosteroids for acute optic neuritis. We included six random...
Secretin is a gastrointestinal hormone that was first presented as an effective treatment for ASD in 1998, based on anecdotal evidence. On the basis of these first reports many families sought treatment with intravenous secretin for their children with ...
Cystic fibrosis is a serious genetic disorder that affects many organs (e.g. lung and pancreas). It commonly leads to reduced bone mineral density, known as osteoporosis, which increases the likelihood of fractures. The short-term and long-term effects ...
Allergic rhinitis is a common health problem affecting about 500 million people worldwide; its prevalence is increasing. The symptoms of allergic rhinitis include sneezing, and an itchy, runny and blocked nose. Several classes of drugs are used to treat...
Impetigo causes blister-like sores. The sores can fill with pus and form scabs, and scratching can spread the infection. Impetigo is caused by bacteria. It is contagious and usually occurs in children. It is the most common bacterial skin infection pres...
Use of menopausal hormone therapy (HT) has been associated with reduced risk of colorectal cancer; evidence for its effect on other gastrointestinal cancers is limited. We conducted a nested case-control study within a UK cohort, and meta-analyses combining our results with those from published studies. Our study included women aged 50+ in the UK General Practice Research Database (GPRD): 1,054 with oesophageal, 750 with gastric and 4,708 with colorectal cancer, and 5 age- and practice-matched controls per case. Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for cancer in relation to prospectively-recorded HT prescriptions were estimated by conditional logistic regression. Women prescribed HT had a reduced risk of oesophageal cancer (adjusted RR for 1+ vs. no HT prescriptions, 0.68, 95% CI 0.53-0.88; p = 0.004), gastric cancer (0.75, 0.54-1.05; p = 0.1) and colorectal cancer (0.81, 0.73-0.90; p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in cancer risk by HT type,
22453573 2012 03 28 2012 03 29 1538-3598 307 12 Mar 28 JAMA 1312-4 Blanke Charles D CD eng Comment Editorial United States JAMA 7501160 0098-7484 0 Antineoplastic Agents 0 Piperazines 0 Pyrimidines 152459-95-5 imatinib AIM IM JAMA. 2012 Mar 28; 307(
Infection of implantable cardiac devices is an emerging disease with significant morbidity, mortality, and health care costs.|To describe the clinical characteristics and outcome of cardiac device infective endocarditis (CDIE) with attention to its health care association and to evaluate the association between device removal during index hospitalization and outcome.|Prospective cohort study using data from the International Collaboration on Endocarditis-Prospective Cohort Study (ICE-PCS), conducted June 2000 through August 2006 in 61 centers in 28 countries. Patients were hospitalized adults with definite endocarditis as defined by modified Duke endocarditis criteria.|In-hospital and 1-year mortality.|CDIE was diagnosed in 177 (6.4% [95% CI, 5.5%-7.4%]) of a total cohort of 2760 patients with definite infective endocarditis. The clinical profile of CDIE included advanced patient age (median, 71.2 years [interquartile range, 59.8-77.6]); causation by staphylococci (62 [35.0% {95% CI,
Current advances in our understanding of stem and precursor cell biology and in the protocols of stem cell isolation and transplantation have opened up the possibility of transplanting neural stem cells for the treatment of gastrointestinal motility disorders. This review summarises the current status of research in this field, identifies the major gaps in our knowledge and discusses the potential opportunities and hurdles for clinical application.
Reviews the evidence for and against hundreds of preventive health services, recommending tests, and counseling interventions when evidence exists that it is effective.
Reviews the evidence for and against hundreds of preventive health services, recommending tests, and counseling interventions when evidence exists that it is effective.
Reviews the evidence for and against hundreds of preventive health services, recommending tests, and counseling interventions when evidence exists that it is effective.
Physician Performance Goals Are Great, But Balance Is More Realistic Jennifer Frank, MD, May 15, 2012 Performance measurements for physicians are well-intentioned and get me to rethink how I practice. But in the end I won't make the goals, so I'll have to go with balance over perfection.
Designing the Perfect Business Card for Your Medical Practice C. Noel Henley, MD, May 11, 2012 Does your business card say anything substantive about the valuable work you do in your practice? Here’s how to re-design your next business card for maximum impact and engagement.
Registered Nurses an Ideal Fit for Primary Care Practices Audrey "Christie" McLaughlin, RN, May 10, 2012 Here are four good reasons to hire a registered nurse for your primary care practice …maybe even instead of a medical assistant.
The Five Biggest Medical Practice Marketing Mistakes James Doulgeris, May 10, 2012 There are best practices to marketing your practice, but often, success is more about knowing what not to do. Here are the five most common pitfalls …and how to avoid them.
Can You Practice Medicine and Manage Your Practice? Rosemarie Nelson, May 9, 2012 Whether you practice alone, or in a group, if you're trying to see patients in this pay-for-volume environment and also run the business of your practice, you may be missing out on important opportunities.
A 14-year-old boy presented with diffuse abdominal pain of several day’s duration; he was admitted for... 
Digital extension; joint hypermobility; skin elasticity with “cigarette-paper” or keloid scars;... 
A 20-year-old woman presented in mid-winter with a mildly painful, swollen, and discolored left toe of a week’s duration.... 