HIV and ID Observations

March 5th, 2017

High-Dose Flu Vaccine, Robert De Niro Challenge, Antibiotics for Colds, and More: March Comes in Like a Lion ID Link-o-Rama

Here are a few ID/HIV items blowing around the neighborhood on this, a bitterly cold and windy first weekend of March (at least here in Boston): Compared with the standard dose vaccine, the high-dose flu vaccine reduced deaths among older adults. The benefit was seen in the 2012-13 flu season, but not 2013-14. The authors speculate that the circulating […]

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February 26th, 2017

Improving Outcomes with ID Consultation: Three More Papers For the Collection

Several years ago, one of my very brilliant colleagues posed an interesting question. Why do ID specialists even exist? “After all,” he said in an accent that happens to be a distinctive mix of several former British colonies. “There is nothing we do that other doctors couldn’t also do, provided they had the motivation.” He had a point — with no required […]

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February 19th, 2017

Really Rapid Review — CROI 2017, Seattle

The Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) returned to Seattle this past week for its 24th meeting. It’s the 4th time CROI has been held in Seattle, an excellent city for a meeting of this size, which includes “only” 4200 people. The convention center is pleasant and user-friendly — big but not cavernous, actually encourages […]

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November 6th, 2016

Do ID Clinicians Perpetuate Our Own Stigma?

Infectious Diseases doctors will find this exchange familiar: New person you’re meeting:  What to do you do? ID Doc:  I’m a doctor. New person:  Oh — what kind? ID Doc:  A specialist in Infectious Diseases. New person (making a face, or moving a few feet back, either to be humorous or truly frightened, or both):  Yuck! […]

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July 3rd, 2016

Velpatasvir/Sofosbuvir Makes HCV Treatment Simpler, Especially For Genotypes 2 and 3

One of the ways ID and hepatology hepatitis C experts like to show off is by discoursing on the nuances of cleverly named clinical trials, and how these impact treatment guidelines. It usually goes something like this: “In the EP-CILEON [I made that up] study of [insert HCV regimen here], treatment-experienced patients with genotype [insert non-genotype 1 patients here, […]

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June 25th, 2016

ID Cartoon Caption Contest Closed — Time to Vote

The response to our First Ever ID Cartoon Caption Contest was gratifyingly brisk, with hundreds of entries. Not going to lie about this — we were somewhat concerned the response would be silence … you know, as in <<crickets>> … but you readers proved very much up to the task, with numerous funny suggestions. Our sophisticated computer algorithm has […]

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June 19th, 2016

ID Cartoon Caption Contest

The New Yorker magazine is justifiably famous for its fine writing, with its contributors a veritable Who’s Who of famous authors and journalists of the past century. Truman Capote, Ann Beattie, J.D. Salinger, John Cheever, John Updike, Dorothy Parker, E.B. White, Philip Roth, Alice Munro, John Hersey, Malcolm Gladwell, Roger Angell, James Thurber … you […]

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May 30th, 2016

The Sanford Guide — 46 Editions Later, Still Going Strong

I recently had a chance to visit Portland, Oregon, which for many will conjure up images of bicycles, hipsters, Mount Hood, roses, organic everything, and craft beers. It’s also the lifelong home of Dr. David Gilbert, the lead editor of The Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy, an invaluable resource well-known to almost every clinician. Dave was kind […]

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May 8th, 2016

Zika, Baseball, and Waiting for a “New Normal”

I received an email from someone who’s known me a very long time. Hint:  She’s known me longer than anyone. Literally. Here’s the email: Baseball cancelled in Puerto Rico because of Zika. This story has you written all over it. (To use a cliche.) Mom I told you she knew me well! For those not obsessed with this silly game to […]

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April 2nd, 2016

You Too Can Have Fun with Academic Spam

Like most doctors who work at academic medical centers, I get a fair amount of “academic spam” — invitations to bogus meetings that take place in some exotic or at least warm place (China, Dubai, and Orlando are favorites), efforts to sell me monoclonal antibodies or, more recently, CRISPR-altered mice, and of course requests to contribute research papers or […]

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