HIV and ID Observations

October 27th, 2008

Antibiotics as Placebos?

This article in the BMJ is geting lots of news:  Out of 679 practicing physicians in the United States, about half admitted to prescribing placebos on a regular basis.  A “small but notable proportion (13%) of physicians reported using antibiotics.” My first instinct was surprise that the rate was this low, but then I remembered that public […]

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October 21st, 2008

Back to School, Day 4: PEP and More PEP

After a lecture on HIV for Primary Care Providers in our course last week, the most controversial topic was, not surprisingly, the use of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for both occupational and non-occupational exposures.  And today, after an entire lecture on PEP to a group of HIV providers in our AIDS course, again the subject drew […]

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October 18th, 2008

Back to School, Day 2

During the course, often the best questions and anecdotes come during the breaks.  Here are a few: Tons of questions about our favorite nemesis, MRSA.  What works for chronic carriers?  How do you manage family members who you suspect would be culture-positive (and the source of recurrences), but are not your patient?  What if the vet […]

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October 15th, 2008

Back to School, Day 1

We offer two post-graduate courses each year, one entitled Infectious Diseases in Primary Care, and the other AIDS Medicine:  An Intensive Case-Based Course.  The Primary Care one started today, the AIDS course starts on Monday. (Both are equally fascinating.  I am entirely unbiased.) What is so striking is that the participants — and content — barely overlap […]

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October 8th, 2008

The French Win This One

The 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine goes to Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier for discovery of HIV.  They each get one-quarter of the prize money, with one-half going to Harald zur Hausen for showing the relationship between human papillomavirus and cervical cancer. For the record, if you search the Nobel press release for the word “Gallo”, […]

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October 1st, 2008

Deadlines of Note

Just a reminder of some interesting deadlines/events out there, in case you were too wrapped up sharpening pencils for tomorrow’s Vice Presidential debate: As of today, Medicare will no longer reimburse hospitals for medical errors — which includes some hospital-acquired infections.  According to this article, several other payors (including private insurers) are using this as a precedent […]

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