Conditions and Diseases

Physicians writing on KevinMD about the diseases they treat and the people who have them: cancer and its screening arguments, pain and the drugs that treat it, diabetes and the obesity argument, mental illness and who gets treated for it, and the decisions at the end of a life. Five maintained records draw on this archive: Cancer: what physicians say, in their own words, Opioids: what physicians and pain patients say, in their own words, End of life: what physicians say, in their own words, Diabetes and obesity: what physicians say, in their own words, and Mental health: what psychiatrists and physicians say, in their own words.

Sleep deprived and exhausted? These tips will help.

Katie Fortenberry, PhD

December 1, 2016

I’m just coming out of two years of sleep deprivation.

Due to some sleep apnea issues (hopefully finally resolved), my now two-year-old daughter slept like a newborn until this summer. Which means, like the mom of a newborn, I was up every three hours at night for the last two years.

This has given me more experience in living with sleep deprivation than I ever wanted and plenty of time to think …

A startling end to nurse turf wars

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Conditions and Diseases

November 28, 2016

We fought. And we fought hard. We were smarter and quicker and we could multi-task, and critically think beyond any MD or NP or PA or beyond any cardiovascular ICU (CVICU) nurse.

We always thought we had the higher acuities. We had the critical patients. The multi-system failure patients. The hemodynamically unstable patients.

We had to figure out the lungs, the heart, the kidneys, the brain, the pancreas, the gallbladder, the liver.

And …

Read more…

A startling end to nurse turf wars

What’s the real reason women remove their pubic hair?

Jennifer Gunter, MD

Conditions and Diseases

November 28, 2016

A study published in JAMA Dermatology regarding women’s pubic hair grooming practices has people abuzz. This cosmetic act needs a formal medical name because “clamscaping” just doesn’t work on grant applications. Although why the authors couldn’t go with hair removal, I don’t know. The study wasn’t about styling, it was about removal. The study even made it into the New York Times. And yes, my first …

MKSAP: 21-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes

mksap

Conditions and Diseases

November 26, 2016

A 21-year-old woman is evaluated for management of type 1 diabetes. She was diagnosed 3 months ago after presenting to the emergency department with diabetic ketoacidosis. Her HbA1c level at the time of diagnosis was 15.2%. She was discharged from the hospital on a basal and prandial insulin regimen with minor adjustments required as an outpatient. Her blood glucose log demonstrates a recent change manifesting as frequent symptomatic episodes of …

It’s time to phase out the word “psychosomatic”

Jeff Kane, MD

Conditions and Diseases

November 20, 2016

Psychosomatic. I learned not to use that word forty years ago, after I’d told a patient her malady might be psychosomatic in origin. She turned red, jumped up, and on her way out said, “I hope you fall into an open manhole and die!”

Well, maybe I should’ve been more circumspect. I hadn’t realized until then that people can understand “psychosomatic” in a different way than I do. I’d meant what …

MKSAP: 34-year-old man with progressive left knee pain

mksap

Conditions and Diseases

November 19, 2016

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.

A 34-year-old man is evaluated for progressive left knee pain. The pain causes difficulty with his work as a mail carrier, particularly when walking. His occupation does not require repetitive bending. He played football in college and experienced left knee trauma during sports participation; he underwent left meniscectomy and stopped playing sports. His …

MKSAP: 57-year-old man with a right-sided pleural effusion

mksap

Conditions and Diseases

November 12, 2016

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.

A 57-year-old man is evaluated in follow-up for a right-sided pleural effusion. He initially presented with increasing dyspnea and a constant dull ache on his right side. He also has lost 9.1 kg (20.0 lb) over the last 6 months. Medical history is otherwise unremarkable, and he takes no medications. He has never …

A patient with extreme positivity despite going through difficult times

Neha Sharma, DO

Conditions and Diseases

November 6, 2016

This is a story of a very special patient. A story that may change your outlook on life.

When I first met her, there was an interesting aura that surrounded her. An aura of positivity and contentment. She was listening to her favorite band on her iPhone and humming along. Her carefree countenance was perfectly paired with the jovial tunes.

I had admitted her to the hospital for an infected bedsore. She …

MKSAP: 30-year-old woman is evaluated for difficult-to-treat migraine

mksap

Conditions and Diseases

November 5, 2016

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.

A 30-year-old woman is evaluated for difficult-to-treat migraine. She has had severe headaches, usually on the first day of menses, since menarche. The pain is hemicranial, pulsatile, and associated with severe nausea and vomiting but no aura. She frequently awakens with the attack already in progress. Ibuprofen was helpful in controlling migraine pain …

What it feels like to be a patient from a doctor’s point-of-view

Anonymous

Conditions and Diseases

November 3, 2016

For the first couple of years of medical school, the constant stream of exams and the anxiety that came along with each one seemed never-ending. I told myself that it was worth sacrificing my personal health to better the lives of others.

I put off addressing my own mental health needs to keep advancing to the next level of education. I let stress manifest itself in new ways that my body …

A psychiatrist says don’t spank your children. Praise them instead.

Celia Trotta, MD

Conditions and Diseases

November 2, 2016

Spanking is an extremely common form of corporal punishment, generally used against a child in response to a perceived bad behavior. It is an old-fashioned form of punishment that has the potential to cause more harm than good. It is clear that spanking may be effective in causing immediate obedience, but this effect is short-lived.

Corporal punishment has been associated with adverse effects in childhood, such as causing the child to …

What breast reconstructive surgery taught me about womanhood

Melissa Poh, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 30, 2016

When I was a little, I used to love puzzles. You could find me with pen in hand, sprawled out on my bedroom floor, nose buried deep in word searches or my Highlights magazine. I wanted to know how things worked. I loved building block sets and making up games with my older brother during summer vacations. Over the years, that curiosity eventually morphed into my current profession as a …

MKSAP: 57-year-old man with acute kidney injury

mksap

Conditions and Diseases

October 29, 2016

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.

A 57-year-old man is evaluated for a diagnosis of acute kidney injury. He was diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease 3 weeks ago and was prescribed omeprazole. Several days ago he noticed lower extremity swelling and decreased frequency of urination. Laboratory evaluation showed a serum creatinine level of 2.2 mg/dL (194.5 µmol/L). Medical history …

Biomarkers in metastatic breast cancer: Do they make a difference?

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 27, 2016

When it comes to our health and our health care, we love the numbers. Sometimes, we even fall in love with the numbers, assuming that the numbers tell us the whole story when, in fact, that may not be the case. Cholesterol numbers, blood pressure numbers, body mass index, whatever. As patients and consumers, we are frequently defined by our numbers.

But what happens when those numbers and other medical tests, …

Don’t use garlic to treat vaginal yeast infections

Jennifer Gunter, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 26, 2016

Vaginal yeast infections are common, up to 75 percent of women will have at least one and 5 percent of women suffer from chronic yeast infections (meaning four or more a year). Many women out of frustration with allopathic medicine (preventing recurrent yeast infections can be challenging) or because of their beliefs turn to alternative medicine options. More and more I am hearing about vaginal garlic.

The problem with many alternative …

What’s the secret to weight loss? There is no secret.

Ted Paisley, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 24, 2016

How many calories are in a pound?

This seemingly simple question stumped me on my family medicine board recertification exam seven years ago — twice. (I think they asked the question in two different ways. I hoped they were experimental questions that didn’t count.) Later that day, I found the answer: 3,500 calories equals one pound.

I don’t remember which multiple-choice answer I chose, but I do remember choosing the same answer …

MKSAP: 25-year-old woman with diarrhea for 2 days

mksap

Conditions and Diseases

October 22, 2016

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.

A 25-year-old woman e-mails her internist from Mexico with a report of diarrhea for 2 days. She is traveling and reports three to four loose bowel movements per day. She has been dining in the hotel restaurants but has also consumed foods and bottled soft drinks served with ice from local food vendors.

She …

This doctor stopped telling patients to lose weight. Here’s why.

Elisabeth Poorman, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 21, 2016

Several years ago, I was meeting a young woman in my clinic for the first time. She was healthy but had been obese most of her adult life, even though she had tried many methods of losing weight. We spoke for a few minutes about diet and exercise, and she agreed to see the nutritionist.

A few months later, she came back to check her progress. She had lost weight, about …

How can hope help make cancer a chronic disease?

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 21, 2016

Perhaps, doctors struggle more than most with memories that mark sad moments in their careers. For me, one of the most indelible was of a wonderful young man with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

When I started my oncology career in the early 1970s, CML was almost always fatal. It would start with a chronic phase, which was treated with pretty simple medications. But those medications didn’t cure the disease.

The “almost always” …

Transplantation for alcoholic liver disease: 6-month rule or death sentence?

Robert S. Brown, Jr., MD, MPH

Conditions and Diseases

October 18, 2016

Liver transplantation for alcoholic liver disease has been controversial since the advent of the procedure. The perception that alcohol-related liver disease is self-inflicted combined with concerns of a high risk of recidivism to alcohol use, recurrent alcoholic liver disease, and non-compliance post-transplant has led a lack of support for transplantation for alcoholic patients in the public and among physicians. After initially avoiding transplants in this group of patients, the majority …

Conditions and Diseases

Conditions and Diseases

Most Popular

Past Week

Past 6 Months

Recent Posts

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Most Popular

Past Week

Past 6 Months

Recent Posts