Category: Conditions

Eradication of H. Pylori should be confirmed using the urea breath test or fecal antigen test

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 60-year-old woman is evaluated 1 month after completing a 14-day course of Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy consisting of amoxicilli…

When you identify your Lyft driver as potentially having bipolar disorder

I remember September 27, 2018 like it was yesterday. When Ashley* picked me up from my apartment Thursday morning, I thought it would be like the 138 past Lyft rides I’ve taken since 2017. I was wrong. After I waived to Ashley from the curb, I got sett…

A patient gives the gift of poop

In broken English, against the backdrop of the emergency department’s chaos and clatter, Mr. Simon relayed his story: unintentional weight loss, gradually yellowing skin, weeks of constipation. He punctuated his list of devastating symptoms with …

Heart health begins in childhood: 5 tips from a pediatrician

Heart health starts in childhood to avoid cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes. Kids today have developed so many bad health habits that they are facing heart attacks in their 30s. Many experts predict they will be the first gene…

Is gaming disorder a real addiction, and how can I tell if it’s affecting my child?

Studies have shown that video games and other addictions, such as alcohol and nicotine, affect neural pathways in similar ways: They all lead to an increase in dopamine levels in specific pleasure centers of the brain. While drugs increase dopamine lev…

The history and physical often falls by the wayside in modern medicine. That’s a shame.

Did you feel a pop? It is a simple question that we rattle off to complete our musculoskeletal history. The answer may or may not give higher suspicion for a diagnosis of tear over sprains. But have you — the provider — ever felt a pop? Like any good p…

How many beers is too many?

“I drank beer with my friends. Almost everyone did.” Alcohol has become constitutional to American culture: “grabbing a drink” after work, happy hour, cheers before meals, on New Year’s, or just because. Our society’s normalization of drinking creates …

MKSAP: 32-year-old man with an intermittent pruritic rash

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 32-year-old man is evaluated for an intermittent pruritic rash of 8 years’ duration. Medical history is significant for mild persiste…

How to cut avocados: tips from an orthopedic surgeon

Love avocados, but hate cutting them. They are slippery little rascals and are responsible for many nasty hand injuries. Stab wounds from using knives in the kitchen are not fun but are reported daily. Accidental self-inflicted knife injuries to digits…

How can we really stop obesity?

I met a young man in my clinic recently, who came for treatment of obesity. He was only 26, yet suffered from obesity throughout his life — now reaching a debilitating 420 pounds. His explanation for how he developed obesity was a reflection of the iss…