Amol, general internal medicine resident at the University of Toronto, and Nathan, general surgery resident at the University of Toronto, discuss 2 recent studies: Does it matter which hospital patients return to after surgery? A large retrospective cohort study showed that when post-operative patients are re-admitted to the same hospital where they had their surgery, …
This week, Amol, general internal resident at the University of Toronto, and Reena, General Internist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, discuss two papers: Reena shares a large registry-based study that found adult patients with Type 2 Diabetes in Sweden had a 15% higher mortality rate than the general population. Amol and Reena wonder why this …
This week we are replaying one of our favourite episodes from earlier this season: Originally aired on October 3, 2015, Amol, general internal resident at the University of Toronto, and Fahad, Staff Internist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, discuss two papers. It’s phototherapy without the need for electricity. Fahad discusses how filtered sunlight is found to …
Amol, general internal resident at the University of Toronto, and Raed Joundi, neurology resident at the University of Toronto, discuss 2 recent studies: Is early mobilization helpful for stroke patients? A randomized control trial showed that early aggressive rehabilitation for acute stroke patients resulted in worse outcomes. Amol and Raed speculate reasons behind this counter-intuitive …
Amol, general internal resident at the University of Toronto, and Janice, general internist at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, discuss 2 recent studies: Dying with dignity is not easy, especially in a highly charged environment like the Intensive Care Unit. Janice talks about a mixed methods study that examined the impact of soliciting and fulfilling …
This week we are replaying one of our favourite old episodes, due to many of our team members being away at the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine Conference. Originally aired on April 17, 2015, Nathan and Amol want you to understand the following: 1. There was no significant difference between three different call schedules in …
Amol and Janice, general internal medicine residents at the University of Toronto, discuss 2 recent studies that challenge 2 widely accepted medical practices. Does using acetaminophen to treat fever improve outcomes? A randomized control trial found that giving acetaminophen to critically ill patients did lower their fever, but did not affect the number of ICU …
The “broken heart syndrome” – not always caused by a broken heart? A multi-national, multi-centered observational study on takotsubo cardiomyopathy found that physical triggers are more common than emotional triggers, patients present predominantly with chest pain, ECG changes, and troponin elevation. The study also generated surprising hypotheses about what medications have long-term benefit for these …
It’s phototherapy without the need for electricity. Fahad discusses how filtered sunlight is found to be equivalent to conventional phototherapy in treating infants with elevated bilirubin levels. The film that filters the sunlight is low cost and low-tech, yet has the potential for global impact. Amol discusses using text messages to battle cardiovascular disease. Semi-personalized motivational …
Nathan discusses a randomized trial about breast cancer screening that found that sending women information about both the risks and the benefits of breast cancer screening resulted in more women making an “informed choice” and fewer wanting to undergo screening mammography. Amol discusses the BRIDGE trial, which found that not bridging patients’ anticoagulation around the …
Amol and Fahad discuss: 1. A randomized controlled trial shows that a new approach to vagal maneuvers for supraventricular tachyarrhythmia was shown to be significantly more effective than traditional maneuvers. 2. A survey in California adolescents shows that there is an association between eCigarette use and subsequent tobacco use, raising concerns about a ‘gateway’ effect. The …
Season 2 of The Rounds Table kicks off next week. To get things started, here’s a short episode with ‘good stuff’ recommendations from our excellent new team: Jennifer Peng, Anthony Maher, and Annie Wang. Good Stuff Jennifer: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/11/the-dutch-village-where-everyone-has-dementia/382195/ Anthony: http://blogs.plos.org/globalhealth/2013/11/jojewell2/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+plos%2Fblogs%2Fblogosphere+%28Blogs+-+Blogosphere%29 Annie: http://freakonomics.com/2015/08/27/are-you-ready-for-a-glorious-sunset-a-new-freakonomics-radio-episode/ Music Credits (Creative Commons): In your Robotic Heart – Nicolai Heidlas https://soundcloud.com/nicolai-heidlas/in-your-robotic-heart Drive – Nicolai Heidlas https://soundcloud.com/nicolai-heidlas/drive-fresh-upbeat-pop-background-music Piano …
Amol and Reena want you to understand the following: 1. When added to moderate dose statin, the IMPROVE-IT randomized trial showed that ezetimibe improved clinical outcomes in patients after acute coronary syndrome. 2. A network meta-analysis showed that no blood pressure lowering therapy improved mortality in patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease. The combination of ACE-inhibitors and …
Originally aired May 22, 2015. Amol and Janice want you to understand the following: 1. Several RCTs and observational studies suggest that Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement reduces mortality and improves symptoms in frail, elderly patients. 2. A historical analysis demonstrates that the sugar industry had heavy influence in setting national dental research priorities in the 1970s, which …
Amol and Nathan want you to understand the following: 1. A large randomized evaulation of a quality improvement intervention demonstrated a modest but significant reduction in rates of cesarean-section in Quebec. 2. A large double-blind randomized-controlled-trial of over 1100 patients showed that pentoxifylline is not beneficial in the treatment of alcoholic hepatitis and prednisolone may have mild …
Aired April 23: Empiric antibiotic choices for community acquired pnuemonia and clindamycin versus trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for skin and soft tissue infections. Fahad and Amol want you to understand the following: 1. A large, high quality RCT showed that there was no significant difference between an empiric treatment strategy of beta-lactam vs beta-lactam plus macrolide vs respiratory fluoroquinolone for …
Fahad and Amol want you to recognize that: 1. Idarucizumab as an agent that specifically reverses the hemostatic effects of dabigatran. 2. A post-hoc analysis of the ROCKET-AF study showed that digoxin is associated with increased mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation. The papers Idaracizumab for Dabigatran reversal. Digoxin use and mortality in ROCKET-AF. Good stuff http://www.smacc.net.au/about-us/welcome/ http://emupdates.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Strayer-Opioid-Misuse-SMACC-Slideset.pdf …
Amol wants you to: 1. Consider how the evidence helps us decide whether to prescribe a patient warfarin or a novel oral anticoagulant for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation. Continuing Medical Education Internists can receive 0.5 hours of Continuing Medical Education credit for each podcast they listen to through the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine (MOC Category 1) …
Originally Published December 5, 2014: Travis and Amol want you to recognize that: 1. Recognize whole exome sequencing is an important new method of identifying genetic mutations associated with disease. 2. Understand that the 4-year follow-up of the PROTECT AF study showed that left atrial appendage closure devices may be superior to warfarin in preventing strokes in patients …
Amol and Reena want you to understand the following: 1. When added to moderate dose statin, the IMPROVE-IT randomized trial showed that ezetimibe improved clinical outcomes in patients after acute coronary syndrome. 2. A network meta-analysis showed that no blood pressure lowering therapy improved mortality in patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease. The combination of ACE-inhibitors and …