HIV and ID Observations

September 13th, 2014

In These Challenging Times for ID Doctors, a Little Comic Relief

I was passing a colleague in the hall the other day — he’s a general internist by training, now an important hospital administrator — and he briefly stopped me to get my take on the flurry of ID-related news bombarding the world right now. Him:  Hey, Paul, good to see you. Me:  Hi Jerry. Him:  Quite […]

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February 5th, 2014

Electronic Medical Records, Eye Contact — and Dogs

A few thoughts on the importance of eye contact during patient care, no doubt inspired by my puppy’s first birthday, and his insistent and adoring (at least that’s how I see it) gaze: Long piece in the New York Review of Books — all doctors subscribe, of course — by Arnold (Bud) Relman, describing his experience […]

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August 6th, 2013

Nelson Cruz and Yet Another ID-Baseball Link

Texas slugger Nelson Cruz is one of the Biogenesis gang just suspended from baseball for use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). For those who care about these things, he’s also probably the most important player from the banned list, since he’s 1) very good and 2) on a team in contention for a playoff spot. For those who […]

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July 23rd, 2013

Guess it Wasn’t the Acyclovir After All

Big news in baseball land is that superstar Ryan Braun has been suspended for the rest of the season for using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). And why is this information in an Infectious Diseases blog? Three main reasons: When Braun first got nabbed for PEDs in 2011, it was widely rumored it had something to do with […]

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July 20th, 2013

There’s No US News & World Report Infectious Diseases Ranking — Is That A Good Thing?

As the internet burns through traditional print media, decimating anything paper in its path, several odd things have happened beyond simply putting those newspapers, magazines, and journals out of business. For example, Gourmet was subsumed into Bon Appetit — who could have predicted that? PLoS One and its ilk were born. And what about the hard-copy […]

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June 22nd, 2013

NEJM Group, Blog Freeze, and Puppy Brothers

It’s official — the various medical products of the Massachusetts Medical Society are now lumped under NEJM Group — including the flagship New England Journal of Medicine itself, the Journal Watches, even this site. No surprise, therefore, that there will be a new web platform, with the launch slated for next week. I’ve been told this means a “blog […]

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March 15th, 2013

Tom Seaver Has Lyme Disease, and the Baseball, ID, and Wine Trifecta

In my never ending quest to link up various passions in life — especially baseball and Infectious Diseases — I bring you this news story: But for Seaver, after months of private denial, the scariest incident came when his head vineyard worker, who has been with him for seven years, came into the house one morning. […]

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December 22nd, 2012

Chaos in the Diagnosis of C diff, and Dogs are Amazing Creatures

If you’re confused about the best way to diagnose C diff these days, welcome to the club. There are all kinds of tests out there, and no uniform approach between labs. Our lab actually does three tests — and will do a fourth (the classic cytotoxicity assay) if you request it. The result? Chaos, confusion, and […]

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December 17th, 2012

On Service — But Some Works in Progress

When several of my colleagues attend on the inpatient consult service, they turn on an “out of office” message that provides an automated e-mail reply that goes something  like this: I am currently attending on the inpatient consult service. During this busy time, I may not be able to respond to email in a timely fashion. […]

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September 24th, 2012

Quick Question: An Etiquette Column for ID Specialists

(First in what will undoubtedly be a recurring series.) Hi Paul: What do you do when someone in a non-medical setting gets something really wrong, and it’s in our field? Here’s why I’m asking: I was picking up my 9-year-old son from school the other day, and his teacher reported to me that they were worried […]

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