During my time in practice, I had at least eight patients who came to me sure they had systemic lupus erythematosus, also commonly called SLE or lupus. This is an autoimmune disease, characterized by joint pain, that can affect almost any organ, includ…
As a surgeon who has been practicing for more than 20 years, I have had a front row seat to both positive and negative changes that have taken place in our evolving medical field. As a community hand surgeon who values many of the recent advances in ha…
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 60-year-old man is evaluated for constant low-grade epigastric pain radiating to his back that worsens after he eats fatty foods. He has a …
Last month I saw Joan, a woman who has had low back pain for years. She’d been through the ringer like every other person in severe pain: countless procedures and medications. She continued to have daily pain that stopped her from staying focused at wo…
There are roughly 15 percent of the nation’s children who suffer from a developmental-behavioral condition or about 1 in 6 children. Unfortunately, many of those children often do not get the help they need. Children with developmental and behavioral c…
There is no better place to watch science in action than in the world of medicine. It was discovered in the 1930s that blood, in the presence of a certain streptococcus bacteria, did not clot. The agent formed by the bacteria was isolated and eventuall…
“Please don’t tell my family,” Mary (identifying information changed) immediately asked me after I disclosed the results of her lymph node biopsy and diagnosis of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. At the time, I was a first-year oncology fel…
“Please don’t tell my family,” Mary (identifying information changed) immediately asked me after I disclosed the results of her lymph node biopsy and diagnosis of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. At the time, I was a first-year oncology fel…
I pause for a moment and close my eyes — to center myself in this country, where I am today. I am about to walk through the door and tell the parents what my assessment has shown. I nod to the interpreter waiting behind me and knock firmly befo…
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 49-year-old woman is evaluated for recently worsening joint symptoms. She has a 13-year history of Crohn disease characterized by four to s…
