Last Week in Medicine

It's been a long time, but we are back!

Apologies on the audio quality from Dr. Jenkins. Apparently he was recording from inside a cardboard box.

Today we talk about important, practice changing studies in internal medicine from the last several months. What's the best anticoagulant in patients with cirrhosis and atrial fibrillation? Why do doctors use so much unfractionated heparin for acute PE? Should we still be using beta blockers in patients with acute MI? Does finerenone improve outcomes in HFpEF? Is continuous infusion of antibiotics better than intermittent? And will the cefepime vs piperacillin-tazobactam battle ever end?

Apixaban, Rivaroxaban and Warfarin in Cirrhosis for AF

Anticoagulation Trends for Acute PE

Beta Blockers for Acute MI with Normal EF

Finerenone for HFpEF FINEARTS-HF

Continuous vs Intermittent Infusion of Beta-Lactams BLING III

Prolonged vs Intermittent Infusions of Beta-Lactams Meta-analysis

Piperacillin-Tazobactam vs Cefepime for Sepsis

Recurrent SBP in Patients on Secondary Prophylaxis

Today we are joined by Dr. Brian Locke, recently graduated pulmonary-critical care fellow, who takes us on a journey of avoiding statistical fallacies. Does metformin reduce the likelihood of long COVID? Should we give platelet transfusions to thrombocytopenic patients before central line placement? Did the CANVAS trial change practice in cancer associated thrombosis? Should patients with a stroke due to atrial fibrillation start oral anticoagulation earlier or later? We discuss all these questions on more on today's episode. Check it out!

Metformin for Long COVID
Definition of Post Acute Sequelae of Sars-CoV-2 Infection
Platelet Transfusion before CVC Placement in Thrombocytopenia
DOACs vs LMWH in Cancer Associated VTE
Early vs Late Anticoagulation for Stroke with AF







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Today we have a special guest, Dr. Joel Topf, board-certified nephrologist and medical educator extraordinaire. Our listeners will likely recognize Dr. Topf from his prolific tweeting @Kidney_boy, as well as his numerous appearances on the Curbsiders podcast. He is a co-founder of the NephJC on Twitter, and host and founder of the NephJC podcast Freely Filtered. He is also host of the podcast Channel Your Enthusiasm, a deep dive monthly recap of the nephrology textbook Clinical Physiology of Acid Base and Electrolyte Disorders by Dr. Burton Rose (who, incidentally, is the creator of the original UpToDate). Dr. Topf wrote his own book on fluids, electrolytes and acid-base homeostasis.  He's the co-editor for the fourth edition of Nephrology Secrets and the first edition of The Handbook of Critical Care Nephrology.

Dr. Topf joined us to talk about a new paper he co-authored on osmotic demyelination syndrome and hyponatremia.

I'm also joined by Dr. Mita Hoppenfeld, hospitalist at the University of Utah, to talk about a new DOAC vs warfarin trial in On-X aortic valves, whether it's better to avoid hypertension or hypotension around time of surgery, and the diagnostic accuracy of CT abdomen scans without contrast. Check it out!

Osmotic Demyelination and Hyponatremia
Apixaban vs Warfarin for On-X Aortic Valve
Perioperative Blood Pressure Strategies
Diagnostic Accuracy of CT Abdomen Without Contrast







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This week we have special guest, Dr. Adam Spivak, to talk about the new study on doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis for STIs. Dr. Spivak is an infectious disease expert and works in both an HIV clinic and a free PrEP clinic.

I also review the latest COVID-19 anticoagulation trial and a paper looking at rates of fracture non-union in people who receive bisphosphonates. Check it out!


Doxycycline Post-exposure Prophylaxis for STIs
High dose prophylactic anticoagulation in COVID-19
Bisphosphonate and Rates of Fracture Non-unions





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Today we have special guest, Dr. Sarah Gilligan, a nephrologist, to talk about the new study of thiazides for kidney stones. We all learn in medical school that thiazides reduce urinary excretion of calcium, but does that really translate to fewer kidney stones?

We also have Dr. Brian Locke on to talk about the CAPE COD trial, a big new critical care paper on using hydrocortisone in severe pneumonia, as well as the latest COPD guidelines and a retrospective study of oral antibiotics for infective endocarditis. Check it out!



Hydrochlorothiazide for Kidney Stones

Steroids for Pneumonia Meta-analysis

Hydrocortisone for Severe CAP (CAPE COD)

2023 GOLD COPD Guidelines

Real World Use of Oral Antibiotics for Endocarditis





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Today we welcome special guest and fellow EBM lover Dr. Mita Hoppenfeld to talk about a new randomized controlled trial evaluating the best duration of antibiotics for febrile UTI in men. Is 7 days as good as 14 days? We also review the latest guidelines for lower GI bleeding and a new retrospective study on renal outcomes in patients with AKI who receive IV contrast.

7 vs 14 days of antibiotics for Febrile UTI in Men
Lower GI Bleeding Guidelines
IV Contrast in patients with AKI





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We're back with Season 4! Sorry for the unplanned hiatus.

Today we talk about the CLOVERS trial, which tested the hypothesis that early vasopressors and restrictive fluid would be superior to liberal fluids plus rescue vasopressors. We also looked at the TRANSFORM-HF study, which compared torsemide and furosemide in congestive heart failure, the PREVENT CLOT study, which compared aspirin to enoxaparin for VTE prophylaxis after a traumatic fracture, and the AID-ICU study, which compared haloperidol to placebo in the treatment of ICU delirium.

CLOVERS trial
Torsemide vs Furosemide in CHF
Aspirin vs Enoxaparin for VTE ppx after Fracture
IV Haloperidol in ICU Delirium

We also quickly review some papers we missed in 2022:

Apixaban for VTE in ESRD
Acetazolamide for Congestive Heart Failure
Moderate or Aggressive IV Fluids for Pancreatitis
Perioperative Management of Anticoagulation
CRISTAL study (aspirin vs enoxaparin after TKA/THA)






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Today we have a couple special guests under the age of 2. Birdie and Gus!

Do SGLT2 inhibitors improve diuresis in acute heart failure? Are they better than metformin for reducing cardiovascular mortality? Is high dose dexamethasone better than standard dose in ICU patients with COVID?

We also talk about outcomes in patients with isolated distal DVT compared to proximal DVT, a large case series of patients with monkeypox infection, blood donor outcomes and the outcomes for surgeons who operated the night before. Check it out!


SGLT2-Inhibitors for Acute Heart Failure
Cardiovascular Outcomes for SGLT-2 Inhibitors vs Metformin
COVIDICUS Trial
Isolated Distal DVT Outcomes
Monkeypox Case Series
Mortality in Patients Undergoing Blood Transfusion
Perioperative Outcomes for Surgeons Who Operated the Night Before





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Today we are joined by Dr. Brian Locke to talk about multiple new critical care trials, including the CLASSIC trial of a restrictive vs standard fluid strategy, the LOVIT trial of vitamin C in septic shock, and the PREPARE-II trial of fluid bolus at the time of intubation to prevent cardiovascular collapse. We also look at whether 72 hours of antibiotics are safe in patients with neutropenic fever, whether hospitalist workload affects patient length of stay, and what kind of careers general internists are pursuing over the last decade.

Restrictive Fluids for Septic Shock
Short vs Standard Antibiotics for Neutropenic Fever
IV Vitamin C for Septic Shock
Vitamin C Meta-analysis
Hospitalist Workload and Patient Length of Stay
Fluid Bolus for Intubation
General Internist Practice Choices
Genetically Modified Porcine to Human Cardiac Xenotransplantation







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Today we had Dr. Patricia Liu to talk about a new study from Journal of Hospital Medicine on the management of opioid use disorder in the hospital. And then we got a little carried away covering way too many articles! 

Inpatient Management of Opioid Use Disorder
Hepatitis C Care for People Who Inject Drugs
Final SOLIDARITY trial results for Remdesivir
TAVI for Moderate Risk Severe Aortic Stenosis
Mediterranean Diet vs Low Fat Diet for Secondary Prevention of CVD
Steroids for IgA Nephropathy
GLP-1 Agonists and Gallbladder Disease
Pig to Human Kidney Xenotransplantation
Aspirin for Primary Prevention of CVD





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