Sitemap - 2023 - Inside Medicine

Something unusual: a vacation.

Data snapshot: The Thanksgiving RSV bump looks real. What can we do about the next holiday?

Does appendicitis have a vibe?

Ozempic and Drug Holidays: Taboo or the Next Frontier?

Data snapshot: The CDC's new Covid-19 wastewater tracking is better. It still needs context.

Singing with healthcare and science professionals in 2023.

Life expectancy finally increased. Why that's not really a cause for celebration.

Voices: Dr. Harlan Krumholz on Long Covid research.

What I'm reading: “The Dead Children We Must See,” by Jay Caspian Kang.

Is the new Mpox “outbreak” deadlier?

Pneumonia clusters among children in China. A new disease, or a bunch of old ones?

A Thanksgiving "mystery" from my residency days.

Holiday sale (save 25% on Inside Medicine!)

How to not kill Grandma (or anyone, including yourself) this Thanksgiving and Holiday Season, 2023 version.

What I'm Reading: Pushing back on pandemic revisionism.

Ozempic just became more cost effective (for a subset of patients without diabetes).

Live Q&A, today at 12:30pm ET on Instagram: Is "Pharmageddon" here?

How long do kids actually spread Covid?

One of the best saves I've ever made.

RSV update. Plus new tools in the fight against respiratory illnesses.

Voices: A Q&A with Medicare's top official Chiquita Brooks-LaSure.

The tainted Halloween candy myth is...a myth.

Data snapshot: Fall Covid vaccine uptake and intentions by demographic.

Notes from the ER: Am I prepared for a mass shooting?

What I'm Reading: "Stabbed. Kicked. Spit On. Violence in American Hospitals Is Out of Control," By Dr. Helen Ouyang.

AI in medicine update.

How the pandemic revolutionized opioid use treatment.

Live Q&A: The FDA's accelerated approval pathway. Good for patients? Or a pharma end-around?

Research in the news, October 18, 2023. An exciting idea to saves lives in trauma victims is put to the test.

Data snapshot: Covid hospitalizations by state, October 16, 2023.

Did Aerosmith's Steven Tyler really "break his larynx"?

Data snapshot: Covid-19 hospitalization trends by state, October 9, 2023.

An Under-the-Radar Disparity: Mortality among American Indian and Alaska Native adults.

Over 355,000 excess deaths could have been prevented from July 2021 to September 2022. Is this a Red State/Blue State problem?

Discussing moral injury in medicine.

Data snapshot: Covid-19 levels by state, October 3, 2023.

'Shrooms for depression. Did it work?

Free rapid Covid tests are coming back. How should we use them?

A physician's perspective on 'Dead Man Walking' the opera.

They brought a CT scanner to Oktoberfest. Here's what happened (and what the researchers missed).

Covid-19 metrics update, September 19, 2023.

Voices in medicine: A trauma surgeon thrust into the spotlight. Plus, conversations about drug shortages and navigating medical training.

World Sepsis Day: The CDC's new guidance on the life-threatening condition looks like progress.

9/11 and Covid-19: remembering two New York tragedies.

Should you get the flu shot and a Covid booster at the same time? New data sheds light.

Medicine in the news, September 7, 2023. Does President Biden need to mask right now? Can dehydration explain Mitch McConnell's mental status changes?

Follow up: Where I mask, and don't mask, September 2023 edition.

"A flu" at the US Open? Hmm! And: Why I still mask in some, but not all, public situations.

Another medical journal goes online-only. That's good. Right? I think?

Audio version: Another medical journal goes online-only. That's good. Right? I think?

Covid-19 metrics update, August 28, 2023.

Audio version: Breaking news: Semaglutide (“Ozempic”) effectively treats heart failure. Why that is a big, huge, deal.

Breaking news: Semaglutide (“Ozempic”) effectively treats heart failure. Why that is a big, huge, deal.

Update: Inside Medicine Covid-19 metrics dashboard now has flu and RSV.

Chemotherapy Shortages: Live Q&A with Two Experts Today, Monday, August 21, at 3 PM ET/12 PM PT.

A near-miss on a United 777 offers an important reminder for medical professionals.

Audio version: A near-miss on a United 777 offers an important reminder for medical professionals.

A hidden obstacle to opioid treatment: pharmacies that don't stock buprenorphine (or won't say).

Audio version: A hidden obstacle to opioid treatment: pharmacies that don't stock buprenorphine (or won't say).

Audio version: Last week was likely the deadliest in modern Maui history—all causes combined.

Last week was likely the deadliest in modern Maui history—all causes combined.

Audio version: Travel notes: August 11, 2023. Why I don't share details of my daily research and writing process, but wish I could.

Travel notes: August 11, 2023. Why I don't share details of my daily research and writing process, but wish I could.

Audio version: Does live video improve outcomes in one of medicine's most harrowing procedures?

Does live video improve outcomes in one of medicine's most harrowing procedures?

New: The Inside Medicine Covid-19 metrics dashboard. Finally: key Covid-19 metrics in one place.

Field notes: 50 is not the new 40.

Audio version: Fatal pediatric drownings decreased early this century. They've crept back up, and racial disparities persist.

Fatal pediatric drownings decreased early this century. They've crept back up, and racial disparities persist.

Navigating the challenges of residency. Live Q&A *today* with Dr. Adriana Wong, 3:30pm ET on TikTok.

Voices: Science's editor-in-chief Dr. Holden Thorp on the Stanford president resignation and the detection of research fraud and misconduct.

Audio version: Should Senator Mitch McConnell have gone to the ER after his alarming on-air 'blank out'?

Should Senator Mitch McConnell have gone to the ER after his alarming on-air 'blank out'?

Audio version: HIV: undetectable = untransmittable? Yes. But the news is even better.

HIV: undetectable = untransmittable? Yes. But the news is even better.

Audio version: Weekend warriors vs. daily gym rats: cardiovascular benefits are similar, new study finds.

Weekend warriors vs. daily gym rats: cardiovascular benefits are similar, new study finds.

Two stories which highlight a medical truth: There's no such thing as minor surgery.

How epidemiology and car sales data could have narrowed the Long Island murderer search to 5 suspects in about 5 minutes...but didn't.

Reader email: "She was kind enough to give me one of her kidneys."

Weekly additions to US kidney transplant waitlist hits all-time high.

How I combine music and medicine.

Oldie but goodie: Avoiding Fourth of July hazards...and embracing some fun trivia.

CDC: We are back to our pre-Covid levels of food-related grossness.

New data: Paxlovid may help high-risk vaccinated adults ages 50 and under, but not patients with asthma or those without serious medical conditions.

Notes from the Long Covid Definition symposium at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

A surgeon's experience providing gender-affirming care. Instagram Live today at 3:30pm ET.

What I'm Reading: "Scientists on Twitter head for the exit" and "The Moral Crisis of America’s Doctors."

FDA moves towards monovalent Covid-19 boosters this fall.

Field Notes: The Case ER Docs Can't Help But Love.

Data Snapshot: The Covid-19 Pandemic's Unexpected Impact on Birth Rates Among Older Mothers.

Did a clinical trial just "prove" that Long Covid really exists?

Covid-19 is not one disease.

My advice to graduating medical students on using technology but staying human.

What I'm reading: "In the US, patient data privacy is an illusion."

Theranos founder reports to prison, fulfilling the destiny of a course set two decades ago.

Data Snapshot: Disability claims to Social Security Administration hold steady during pandemic.

FDA fully approves Paxlovid. Now we can learn how well it really works.

Can Survivor teach us something about our health and weight loss?

Ten (Years) For Fighting. The Deadly Toll of Fighting in Ice Hockey: An Analysis of Premature Mortality Among NHL Players.

Voices: Dr. Atul Gawande on USAID spending, Covid-19 Aftermath, and the Need for the US to Lead in Global Health.

WHO recommends next Covid booster be monovalent, tailored to the Omicron XBB.1 lineage.

Live Q&A *today* with Dr. Amanda Calhoun and Dr. Jessi Gold, 2pm ET on Instagram.

Study Reveals 1.63 Million Early Deaths in US Black Population Over Two Decades.

The end of the public health emergency...on paper.

Voices: Dr. Atul Gawande on maintaining humanism in a world of AI and checklists.

NY Times: Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes suddenly seems really nice and down to Earth.

In 1913, epidemiologists made a bold prediction about death disparities. They were wrong.

What I'm reading: "The Curious Side Effects of Medical Transparency," by Dr. Danielle Ofri.

Data Snapshot: Drug-related deaths drop in 2022. First 3 quarters show decrease from record highs recorded in 2021.

Melatonin gummy labels often inaccurate. But that’s not why thousands of kids have been hospitalized after accidental overdoses.

Voices: Dr. Atul Gawande on the personal side of geriatric care: How doctors help their loved ones make medical choices.

Data Snapshot: How many Americans appear "immune naive" to Covid-19?

Insights from the CDC's Covid-19 vaccine meeting.

Live Q&A *today* with Dr. Megan Ranney, 2:30pm ET on Instagram.

FDA authorizes frequent Covid-19 boosters for the immunocompromised, Spring boosters for ages ≥65, moves to bivalent-only regimens.

What should I ask Dr. Atul Gawande?

Voices: FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf on Covid vaccines, tests, naloxone, Alzheimer's drugs, and more.

Getting ahead of seasonal allergies.

Data Snapshot: Covid testing now at Spring 2020 levels.

Updates on spring boosters and buprenorphine (Suboxone) prescribing barriers

What I'm listening to: Yale's Health and Veritas Podcast.

Data Snapshot: Biden Voters Outlive Trump Voters, Earn More Money

What should I ask FDA Commissioner Robert Califf?

FDA Clears Narcan nasal spray for Over-the-Counter Use to Reverse Opioid Overdoses.

WHO update on boosters for all, during pregnancy, and primary series for kids. Here's what they got right and wrong.

Data Snapshot: Immunesuppression in the United States in the Covid-19 era.

At last, a randomized trial on coffee. Here's what happened.

What I'm reading: Beethoven's DNA.

Weekend check-in. (March 25, 2023).

Regular old pneumonia treatment just got better.

Does Covid-19 make you age faster?

Data Snapshot: Covid has faded from the news.

An emergency for emergency medicine?

Selective hearing.

Data Snapshot: Has winter passed? Covid-19 wastewater update in 5 major US cities.

The literal fall of Senator Mitch McConnell.

Two-question reader poll.

Metformin found to reduce Long Covid in clinical trial.

Data Snapshot: US counties with the most alcohol-related driving fatalities (per capita).

Are you "training" for the next pandemic?

What I'm Reading (March 4, 2023).

Norm Macdonald had it right on how we talk about cancer. (So did Barbara Ehrenreich).

Field Notes: The most amazing thing I ever saw in medicine.

Travel notes: Why visitors matter to hospitalized patients. (Or, why it was good for me to be around when Dad got appendicitis).

Data Snapshot: The 2022 Mpox outbreak in review. Top ten nations by cases and deaths per capita.

Voices: Q&A with White House Covid-19 czar Dr. Ashish Jha.

What I'm Reading + Inside Medicine Week In Review (February 25, 2023).

Voices: Q&A with Dr. Megan Ranney

Covid antivirals not shown to decrease household spread. Here's why they still might work.

Masking Christopher Hitchens.

New sepsis trial results reveal how much we have to learn.

Data Snapshot: President Carter and where we die now.

Three-month check-in!

What I'm Reading + Inside Medicine Week In Review (February 18, 2023).

From symptom to diagnosis: Bruce Willis has an untreatable disease called FTD.

RSV vaccine succeeds in phase 3 trial of adults ages 60 and older.

Voices: Dr. Reuben Strayer on a paradigm shift for treating alcohol use disorder patients in ERs.

Healthcare Valentines written by OpenAI and me.

Data Snapshot: Health insurance coverage and cost barriers by race and ethnicity in the US.

What should I ask Dr. Ashish Jha?

Inside Medicine Week In Review (February 11, 2023).

Impressions of "Pegylated Interferon Lambda," a new Covid-19 treatment which performed well in a major study.

Is wastewater the answer for tracking all disease outbreaks?

Field notes: The man who couldn't describe his own job.

Covid-19 killed hundreds of frontline physicians, study finds.

Data Snapshot: The rise and fall of monoclonal antibodies for Covid-19.

Why I teach emergency medicine residents to present cases "in reverse."

Inside Medicine Week In Review (February 4, 2023).

Part II: When "grand mal" seizures don't stop.

When "grand mal" seizures don't stop.

The CDC shows up to debunk the Washington Post's inaccurate opinion on Covid counts.

Why ER doctors always ask patients if they take blood thinners.

Data Snapshot: Updated Covid-19 vaccine and booster rates, by age.

Sunday note and a one-question poll.

Inside Medicine Week In Review (January 28, 2023).

How to stretch our Covid relief dollars with smarter booster campaigns in the future.

Are yearly Covid-19 boosters the best we can do?

How ER doctors communicate: A look inside a complex and fascinating lingo.

Field Notes: The deceptively dangerous thing many people do with their medications.

Data Snapshot: Unnatural Deaths Like Accidents, Trauma, and Overdose Rarely Attributed to Covid.

Resisting the urge to hoard children's Tylenol.

Inside Medicine Week In Review (January 21, 2023).

A point-by-point rebuttal of the Washington Post's double down on Covid deaths being "overcounted."

Future Covid-19 booster vaccinations should be 100% Omicron.

Two month check-in (paid subscribers)...and two quick questions...

Fluvoxamine fails among the vaccinated.

Data Snapshot: Are we overcounting Covid-19 deaths? No.

My weird arc with gas stoves.

Inside Medicine Week In Review (January 14, 2023).

The two sides of the bivalent booster debate, broken down and explained.

New bivalent booster results for seniors from Israel are good news for everybody. Key questions remain.

Fun with OpenAI, medical charting, and diagnostics. (Also: I just got lied to by a bot).

At last, my immediate family is now fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Data Snapshot: Covid-19, flu, and RSV hospitalizations on a single graph.

Field Notes: Ruling out a broken bone without x-rays.

A note from vacation (and a one-question reader poll)...

How to increase your chances of keeping New Year's resolutions.