HIV and ID Observations

January 13th, 2018

Just Wondering: Antibiotics for Cough, PJP vs. PCP, TB-Sniffing Rats, Raw Water, and Other Quick ID Items to Ponder

Here are some “quick questions” with an ID theme for people to consider as we head into week 3 of 52 of this new year. Just think, by the end of next week, we’ll be nearly 6% done with the new year. How time flies! For the various items below, if people know the answers, or want […]

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January 4th, 2018

What’s Your Favorite Diagnostic Test in Infectious Diseases? Another Fantasy Draft

If you’re wondering what to do while hunkering down during the “Bomb Cyclone,” here’s just the thing — the latest podcast on Open Forum Infectious Diseases. (Remember — that’s “O-F-I-D”, not “Oh-FID”.) Again, I welcome my friend and colleague Rebeca Plank, and this time we’re picking our Favorite Diagnostic Tests in ID. While winter storm Grayson gives us […]

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December 24th, 2017

On-Service Digest, December 2017 — Plus a Holiday Song

You youngsters out there might not believe this, but there was a time when passing out copies of published papers — actual hard-copies — was a major part of the teaching hospital experience. Now that this tree-destroying practice is over, many still regularly cite published studies on rounds. The goal is to provide some guidance and reason […]

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December 16th, 2017

CDC Receives List of Additional Forbidden Words and Phrases

Right on the heels of prohibiting certain words or phrases in the Centers for Disease Control’s budget documents, the President’s Office of Financial Services has issued a second list. Now, not only must CDC officials avoid using words such as “vulnerable”, “diversity”, “fetus”, “transgender”, and “evidence-based”, they also have to steer clear of several other words or phrases. […]

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December 10th, 2017

Injection Drug Use-Related HIV Cases Increase in Massachusetts — Is This the Start of a Trend?

Recently the Massachusetts Department of Public Health sent out this concerning notice: The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) has noted an increase in newly diagnosed and acute HIV infections among persons who inject drugs (PWID). To date in calendar year 2017 (through November 21), there have been 64 HIV infections reported among individuals who inject […]

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December 3rd, 2017

Why, Even with Depressing Predictions About Flu Vaccine Effectiveness, We Should Still Recommend and Get It

Each year, the print and broadcast media round up a bunch of experts on influenza and ask them to predict the severity of the upcoming flu season. Most of the time their responses are noncommittal — predicting how bad the flu season will be year to year is tricky business, akin to picking stocks, making 12-month […]

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November 26th, 2017

Should Medical Students Bring Laptops to Lectures?

You can file this under, “Old man yells at cloud,” but here goes. Twice a year now for over a decade, I’ve been lecturing the senior medical students in a therapeutics and pharmacology course. It’s an elective, but it’s very popular — most of the class takes it. Not surprisingly, my topic is Treatment of HIV (duh) […]

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November 19th, 2017

Some ID/HIV Items to Be Grateful For, 2017 Edition

It’s late November — the days are shorter and colder, and the trees have abandoned their bold plan to keep their leaves this winter. We can forgive them their optimism — it was a historically warm October. This time of year also brings us Thanksgiving, easily my pick for the best national holiday. Family, friends, food, a […]

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November 12th, 2017

Poll: Adventures in Buffet Dining — Is It Time to Get Rid of Those Food Tongs?

My friend Joel Gallant wrote this provocative post on his heavily trafficked Facebook page: While standing in line at the cafeteria today, it occurred to me that it was once acceptable to use your fingers to pick up a bagel, a piece of bread, or a cookie from a tray, but this is now viewed as […]

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November 5th, 2017

More Fun With Old Medical Images!

Sometimes we clinicians, researchers, teachers, and medical administrators need a break from our grueling work schedules and responsibilities. With that in mind, I offer a second installment of Fun With Old Medical Images! — which I’ve cleverly entitled, More Fun With Old Medical Images! With an up-front thanks to the National Library of Medicine — who are truly putting […]

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