Category: Conditions

What does a cardiologist think of the keto diet?

Being a cardiologist, the most frequent question coming my way for the last few years is “Doc what do you think about the “keto” [ketogenic] diet.” All foods contain both micronutrients and macronutrients that are essential for the body to function opt…

Why diverticulitis can be an elusive diagnosis

I have been treating diverticulitis for 30 years the same way. When I suspect that a patient has this diagnosis, I prescribe antibiotics. This has been the standard treatment for this disorder for decades. I have found that diverticulitis is a slippery…

Vaping-related illness highlights the complexities of diagnosing rare conditions

When patients started showing up in doctors’ offices and emergency departments with coughs, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, chills and weight loss, physicians’ first instincts were that th…

What if you are one of the 2 percent?

I’m a member of the ACR (American College of Radiology). One of their recent online postings is entitled: Choosing Wisely. Number three (of ten things physicians and patients should question) is: “Avoid admission or preoperative chest X-rays for …

Don’t want to wear a helmet? Sign up as an organ donor.

I walk out my front door today to do my obligatory walk around the block with my pups. Two police cars with blue lights flashing, lead a caravan of over 100 motorcyclists to a funeral for one of their fallen brothers. They revved up their motors in the…

Over 2,000 prayers for the dead. This was my hardest.

The day began in Mom’s room with a 10:00 a.m. conference at Upper Valley Medical Center, west of Columbus, Ohio. In attendance were my 93-year-old mother Joanne (now in her third week of hospitalization), her palliative-care nurse Richard, her Ep…

Are our senior presidential candidates mentally fit?

Did you know, one in four people over 65 have abnormal memory impairment? This is the finding from screening with an objective test.  In half of those who test abnormal, there were common conditions – such as depression and medication interaction…

“I did not want a baby”: A medical student faces her hardest choice

I did not want a baby.  As a 26-year-old third-year medical student who had quite recently ended a far from ideal relationship — of this, I was certain. On vacation, in New York City, walking in Soho carelessly, I laughed with my friend Noelle ov…

MKSAP: 28-year-old woman follows-up after a pre-employment physical examination

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 28-year-old woman undergoes follow-up consultation regarding a pre-employment physical examination. She reports feeling well, with no recen…

The devastating impact of being told one has cancer

As an oncologist, I have seen the devastating impact of being told one has cancer. The reaction I most often see among my patients is fear that they’ve been given a death sentence, an urgent need for a plan, and hope that they will survive. I often wan…