BMJ‘s paper on the possible association of migraine during pregnancy and stroke (and other vascular problems) is the focus of this week’s interview. We speak with first-author Dr. Cheryl Bushnell.

And then there’s the week’s news, plus a message from a listener!

It could have been you, if only you’d called 1-617-440-4374 and made a comment. Maybe you could get yourself to a phone and give it a shot this week?

Relevant links:

The post Podcast 34: An interview with Cheryl Bushnell of Wake Forest about her paper in BMJ concerning migraines during pregnancy and the possibility of their relation to strokes and other vascular problems. first appeared on Clinical Conversations.

This week’s podcast includes an interview from September 2008 with Stephen Hetz, co-editor of “War Surgery in Afghanistan and Iraq,” published last summer by the Surgeon General.

We’re going to change our name to “Clinical Conversations.” which, come to think of it, makes more sense than “Admitting Diagnosis,” but doesn’t have the mystery and the possibilities. We heard that the old name smacked too much of the classroom, etc.

So, let me know how you feel about the series so far. Call 1 617 440 4374 and leave me a message. Thanks!

Links:

The post Podcast 33: We repeat, after the principal news of the week, an interview with Stephen Hetz, co-editor of “War Surgery in Afghanistan and Iraq” first appeared on Clinical Conversations.

We’ve run into a scheduling problem with the person we wanted to talk with. We’ll try again next week, because his views are intriguing and I’m guessing you’d rather have intriguing than ho-hum.

However, so that you won’t have wasted your time downloading the podcast, I’ve reprised an interview from last June, when few of you were listening. It deals with the problem of patients’ false sense of optimism about their life expectancy. Intriguing for sure.

Let me know what you think. Call 1 617 440 4374 and leave a message.

NEWS LINKS:

INTERVIEW LINKS

The post Podcast 32: Reprise of a June 2008 interview with Larry Allen from Duke, in which he talks about patients’ estimates of their life expectancy, compared with what disease models predict. first appeared on Clinical Conversations.

Starting a patient on warfarin is nobody’s idea of a good time, but pharmacogenetic research can help. A study in this week’s NEJM shows the advantage of using genetic information (plus some clinical data) over the old “start at 5 mg a day and pray for success” approach. We talk with Julie Johnson of the University of Florida about the study.

We’ve shortened our news presentation, on the theory that you can’t assimilate too many details through your ears, so we give you the aural cartoon version and provide links for details at the website: podcasts.jwatch.org.

If you want to contact us with your suggestions, please call 1 617 440 4374.

Links for this edition:

The post Podcast 31: Making your clinical life easier — with genetics. Dr. Julie Johnson talks about using a patient’s genetic profile to help set their initial warfarin dose more accurately. You got a problem with that? first appeared on Clinical Conversations.

The FDA announced an early-March meeting with manufacturers of opioids to discuss how problems with the drugs’ overuse and abuse might be addressed. We talk with an author of guidelines just published (and freely available) in the Journal of Pain that coincidentally address some of these concerns.

Then, of course, there’s the usual news roundup, and we finish off with a 200th birthday salute to Charles Darwin (no thanks to unevolved Americans).

To join the merriment or complain about the cake, call 617-440-4374 and leave a message.

To trace the evolution of “Admitting Diagnosis,” which we admit is horribly misnamed, go to podcasts.jwatch.org.

Links for this edition:

The post Podcast 30: Dr. Roger Chou of Oregon Health Sciences University talks about recent guidelines for opioid use in non-cancer pain and reflects on the FDA’s recent announcement of tighter regulation on use of the drugs. first appeared on Clinical Conversations.

Millions of people are discharged each year from U.S. hospitals. How many find themselves on the street with no clear idea of what they’ve been treated for, what drugs they should take and when, and how to get in touch with a clinician if something goes wrong?

No surprise, many are readmitted — either directly or through the emergency room.

Brian Jack and colleagues embarked on Project RED to re-engineer hospital discharge procedures (which, by the way, are not currently standardized).

There’s news and links too. Plus, your chance to talk back by calling 617-440-4374.

Links for this issue:

The post Podcast 29: Dr. Brian Jack of Boston University sees RED (Re-Engineered Discharge) as a way to lower hospital readmissions. first appeared on Clinical Conversations.

There are a dozen new-generation antidpressants on the market now. How to sort them out? On what basis? We talk with two authors of an intriguing meta-analysis released online in Lancet this week.

And we offer the usual roundup of news and, speaking of roundups, a working name while we come up with something better than the rather staid “Admitting Diagnosis.”

Calls, comments, and complaints to 1-617-440-4374.

Links for this podcast:

The post Podcast 28: A discussion with Dr. Andrea Cipriani and Prof. John Geddes about their ranking of 12 antidepressants first appeared on Clinical Conversations.

The 6-year period 2001 – 2006 saw an increase from 12 to 28 in the percentage of S. aureus infections among head-and-neck infections in childen that were methicillin resistant. This 16-point jump is concerning, and we talk with an author of the paper documenting that increase.

Also, we’d like to know: should we be calling this thing here “Admitting Diagnosis” — or something else?

If you would like to comment or offer an idea for a future podcast, please call 617-440-4374.

Links for this podcast:

The post Podcast 27: Dr. Steven E. Sobol talks with us about his paper on trends in pediatric head-and-neck infections from S. aureus — an increasing percentage of which are MRSA. first appeared on Clinical Conversations.

NEJM published a paper this week detailing the risks of sudden cardiac death in those taking both typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs. We talk with the paper’s first author Dr. Wayne A. Ray of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

If you would like to comment or offer an idea for a future podcast, please call 617-440-4374.

Links for this podcast:

The post Podcast 26: Dr. Wayne A. Ray talks about the dangers of sudden cardiac death from antipsychotic drugs first appeared on Clinical Conversations.

Hospitals don’t have many outbreaks of viral hepatitis, owing to a strong culture of infection control. However, health care is moving increasingly to nonhospital settings like outpatient clinics and longterm care facilities where infection control is less established.

We talk with Nicola Thompson and Joseph Perz of the CDC about their paper detailing the causes of over 30 outbreaks in nonhospital healthcare settings over the past decade.

If you would like to comment or offer an idea for a future podcast, please call 617-440-4374.

Links for this podcast:

The post Podcast 25: Drs. Nicola Thompson and Joseph Perz talk about their Annals of Internal Medicine paper on the epidemiology of viral hepatitis outbreaks in nonhospital healthcare settings first appeared on Clinical Conversations.