Conditions

Did you know that colder weather can complicate blood pressure control rates and treatment?

Conditions

March 4, 2024

Next time you hear “cuffing season,” think of blood pressure cuffs. As winter has properly set in with shorter, darker, colder days, you might see the impact on blood pressure control rates.

A new study examined the health records of more than 68,000 adults being treated for hypertension and found that on a population level, BP control rates decreased by up to 5 percent during the winter months …

Breaking free from sugar addiction: Why cold turkey doesn’t work

Nicole Avena

Conditions

March 2, 2024

We know how dangerous sugar can be to our health. Excess sugar intake has been linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and even our immune system health. But giving it up is easier said than done. One question that people often have is, “Do I have to completely give up sugar, like, all of it? Cold turkey?” The answer is: nope! For most people, systematically identifying, replacing, and reducing sugar in …

Psychiatry in 1984 vs. now: Has progress come at a cost?

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Conditions

March 1, 2024

This essay is part satire. The trouble is, I don’t know which part.

As far as I know, time travel is fodder for science fiction thrillers and movies. It doesn’t actually exist on Earth. However, I can time travel in my mind, and I do it frequently, reminiscing about the 40 years between the time I completed my psychiatric residency (in 1984) and now. What has changed in my specialty in …

From Afghanistan to hope: a cancer patient’s remarkable story

Dr. Damane Zehra

Conditions

March 1, 2024

A few weeks back, a young male from Afghanistan visited us in the oncology clinic. He was in his late 20s and came with a translator to facilitate his consultation. He was not very fluent in either Urdu or English but could still understand most of it. He seemed very anxious and perplexed in the initial assessment room. I observed him closely and noticed that there was no family member …

Heart-stopping brain surgery: a surgeon’s harrowing dilemma

Marc Arginteanu, MD

Conditions

February 29, 2024

An excerpt from of Paint and Pancakes.

The epicenter of Jane’s cancer occupied some very expensive real estate between Broca’s area and the motor strip. Her ability to speak and form coherent words resided in Broca’s. A little further back was the Motor Strip, which controlled the movement of the right side of her body.

It all looks the same … so damned normal. Mike cleared his throat. High-price …

Beyond medical vs. N95: strategic masking for COVID protection

P. Dileep Kumar, MD, MBA

Conditions

February 28, 2024

Do masks prevent COVID-19 infections? You might be thinking that it is a bit late to ponder these questions. But better late than never! As shown in the following graph provided by the CDC, COVID is here to stay with us, at least for the time being. Even though nothing compared to the 140,000 hospitalizations per week during the early 2022 wave, there were still about 40,000 weekly hospitalizations a …

Is your persistent cough more than a cold? Understanding micro-choking.

West Haven VA Center of Education in Interprofessional Primary Care

Conditions

February 27, 2024

These days, everybody is coughing. The resurgence of COVID, RSV, and flu has overwhelmed emergency rooms and hospitals this early winter. But not all coughs are viral. If you recently visited a family member for the holidays and noticed a persistent cough after dinner, you may have witnessed not a viral illness but what’s known as an aspiration event.

As primary care providers, we frequently take care of people who are …

Why the medical community should be invested in understanding chronic wasting disease

Jackson J. McCue

Conditions

February 27, 2024

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible prion disease seen in the deer family – including mule deer, whitetail deer, elk, and moose – in countries throughout the world. The prion affects nervous system tissue in infected animals. Eventually leading to erratic behavior and certain death. Currently, there is no evidence of direct transmission of CWD to humans. However, given the biological plausibility for transmission, equity/ecological concerns, and the …

How narrative medicine empowers neurodivergent patients

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Conditions

February 26, 2024

It’s been said that the challenges neurodiverse people face are the ones that neurotypical people view as easy, and vice versa. It speaks to the hard-wired diversity of cognitive styles and perspectives among different individuals.

Neurotypical people, who generally fit within the societal norms of cognitive functioning, might find certain tasks or social situations easier due to their alignment with mainstream expectations. On the other hand, neurodivergent individuals, who have variations …

The ultimate guide to child dental sedation

Emily Knipper, MD

Conditions

February 25, 2024

Cavities in kids are common, and many children are unable to complete dental work without sedation. Dental anxiety must be balanced with safe and expedient dental treatment. Further information about early childhood caries can be found here. The prevalence of dental decay in children varies in different groups but is as high as 85 percent in some populations.

Sedation is recommended for the completion of dental work in children with …

The power of empathy: a tale of 2 prostate biopsies

Scott Janssen, MSW, LCSW

Conditions

February 25, 2024

I’m sitting in a windowless room in the hospital’s urology department waiting for my second prostate biopsy, feeling surprisingly calm and relaxed.

It’s a surveillance biopsy. Two years ago, the first one revealed “a few scattered cancer cells” while zeroing in on what turned out to be a harmless nodule. I’d learned then that a prostate biopsy will never make anyone’s list of fun things to do. In addition to being, …

Surviving my nephrectomy nightmare: the night I’ll never forget

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Conditions

February 24, 2024

My first post-op night after my nephrectomy was a mix of fantastical and almost devastating.

I woke up in the PACU after my surgery, extremely confused and disoriented. I felt like I was trapped inside a video game, desperately trying to escape.

Upon entering my new post-op room on a medical-surgical unit, it had that brand-new, hotel-like decor – shiny and pristine. The nurses, techs, and NPs greeted me with words of …

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: Overcoming doctor bias for a life-changing diagnosis

Denise Reich

Conditions

February 21, 2024

“Do you have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome?”

It wasn’t a question I expected during an ophthalmology appointment. It was, however, one I’d been asked before. Two other specialists had suggested I might have connective tissue issues, but nothing had ever come of it. All I could tell my ophthalmologist, then, was what I’d said before when it had come up: “No, not as far as I know, but I’ll ask about it.”

From trusted family doctors to silent white walls

Michele Luckenbaugh

Conditions

February 20, 2024

The face of health care in today’s world is unfamiliar to me in many ways. When I was growing up, the family doctor was a well-known and respected member of the community. Patients trusted their doctor to help them navigate life’s challenges – the loss of a loved one, a cancer diagnosis, a complicated pregnancy, or depression caused by life’s stresses.

The physician knew their patients, and the patients knew them …

Dry January’s untold value for older adults: a health revolution beyond youth

Michael Pessman

Conditions

February 20, 2024

As Dry January gains popularity and inspires millions of people to abstain from alcohol for a month, its focus appears to be geared towards young adults. A demographic that is often overlooked, but is likely to benefit significantly from this movement, is older adults. The National Survey on Drug Use and Heavy Drinking found that nearly 39 percent of adults aged 65 or older drink …

Beyond Ozempic: Why one size doesn’t fit all in weight loss

Janese S. Laster, MD

Conditions

February 19, 2024

I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, which is generally associated with a diet of all fried food. Prior to medical school, I thought many adults around me would eventually succumb to a diagnosis of hypertension and diabetes since they didn’t appear to think either was a big deal. However, my medical education quickly revealed that these co-morbidities were not merely inconveniences but were linked to some of the leading causes …

Autism spectrum disorder and medicine: strengths, challenges, and stories

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Conditions

February 18, 2024

Dr. Shaun Murphy (played by Freddie Highmore) stars in ABC’s The Good Doctor, a television drama that centers around an autistic surgeon whose job at the hospital was frequently threatened and would be lost if it were not for the practical and emotional support from the hospital president.

I don’t know how many “Doctor Murphys” practice medicine in real life – autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevails in about 1% to 2% …

Postpartum does not equal depression

Emily Little, PhD

Conditions

February 17, 2024

You hear it in conversations with friends when returning to work. Maybe in clinic visits with your patients. Definitely among celebrities and on mainstream media. And maybe you’ve even said it yourself. ”

“My sister suffered with postpartum.”

“I was just diagnosed with postpartum.”

“My wife had to seek help after we realized she was experiencing severe postpartum.”

Yet the word postpartum simply means: the time after childbirth. In the medical community, “postpartum” most often …

Read more…

Postpartum does not equal depression

We need to step up for Black mothers

Toni Brayer, MD

Conditions

February 16, 2024

I started my day today (ironically, Martin Luther King Day) reading another tragic story about a young Black mother who hemorrhaged to death after giving birth in a large public hospital in Brooklyn.

Statistics tell a shocking story. The maternal death rate increased by 79 percent from 2018 to 2021. Women of color had even worse numbers, with the maternal mortality rate among Black women increasing from 37 per 100,000 in …

Read more…

We need to step up for Black mothers

Psychodermatology: A skin-brain axis exists, so what are you doing about it?

Erika Balfour, MD

Conditions

February 14, 2024

Skin and mental health are intertwined. This is evident embryologically, as we know that the skin and brain are derived from ectoderm, forming a skin-brain axis. Furthermore, scientific pathophysiology has shown that conditions such as acne, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis are directly influenced by mood.

Whether you are a patient, a provider, or an aesthetics professional, be aware that treating skin should also include treating mental health when needed. Ignoring that …

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