Hospital Medicine

Results from a study of herpes zoster incidence following periods of acute stress in a large cohort of patients suggest the conventional wisdom on this subject may be wrong.

Do women prefer the sort of masculine faces that indicate high testosterone levels? New research suggests that the answer may depend upon where you live, but if you live in an advanced market economy, the answer is probably "yes."

In this installment, we look at underlying causes of metabolic acidosis, approaches for evaluating patients with suspected metabolic acidosis, and why measurement of the anion gap is of great usefulness in these cases.

Do longer periods of androgen-deprivation therapy significantly improve prostate cancer survival rates or needlessly impair quality of life for recovering patients?

Study results show that treatment with a proton pump inhibitor does not reduce the effectiveness of metformin treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes.

"Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" and "seeing the same glass as being half-empty or half-full" are two commonly cited adages and nowhere is their meaning more evident than in the ongoing debate of whether a pelvic examination should be part of the routine check-up of a female patient.

Slam dunking basketball player reports pain in his left foot and undergoes exams to determine the cause of the problem

Efficacy of anti-inflammatory or antibiotic treatment in patients with non-complicated acute bronchitis and discoloured sputum: randomised placebo controlled trial

This review and meta-analysis assessed whether antiviral treatment given during the acute herpes zoster rash is effective at preventing postherpetic neuralgia in patients with a first-time case of shingles.

A generic version of Gilead Science's hepatitis C drug Sovaldi will be produced in India and sold there and in other poorer countries at what is likely to be a fraction of what it costs in the United States.

New research indicates that doctors who treat anaphylaxis with intravenous epinephrine rather than intramuscular or subcutaneous injections are increasing the risk that patients will suffer overdoses or other adverse reactions.

Anil Asgaonkar, MD, provides an overview of the signs, symptoms, and causes that are frequently associated with hyponatremia, and outlines several standard treatment approaches.

Although methadone accounts for only 2% of opioid prescriptions, it caused nearly one in 3 prescription opioid overdose deaths in 2012, a 6-fold increase from 2009, according to the CDC.

Because there is no objective test for pain, and because each patient's experience of his or her painful condition is subjective and unique, physicians who treat these patients must process a variety of symptoms, signs, and cues to determine whether they can trust their patient's narrative.

Effective management requires clinicians to recognize the underlying conditions and symptoms causing the patient's decrease in serum sodium levels and provide treatment tailored to that patient.

Fumaric acid esters (FAEs) are a known component of a centuries-old herbal medicine, have been used for over 50 years as a topical treatment for psoriasis, and most recently, have demonstrated efficacy in treating relapsing- remitting multiple sclerosis.

Movantik (naloxegol), an oral peripherally acting mu-opioid receptor antagonist, has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation in adults with chronic non-cancer pain.

The anion gap is extremely useful in the detection and analysis of metabolic acidosis and also intoxicants and some hematologic conditions.

New research suggests that oral immunotherapy may trigger anaphylaxis in an unusually high percentage of asthmatic teenagers with high-risk food allergies who failed to adhere to their management plan.

When a patient gets bitten by a dog, there can be many issues doctors need to confront as treatment begins. Two doctors shared their experiences of a patient who was bitten by a dog and still had symptoms including swelling and pain 2 weeks after his K-9 encounter.

A common treatment for opioid addiction significantly reduces testosterone levels in many male patients; researchers suggest that supplementary testosterone might improve outcomes.

The United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is recommending Sovaldi as a cost-effective option to treat some people who have chronic hepatitis C.

Between developing its own pipeline of therapies for patients with hepatitis C and acquiring another company known for its work in this field, it looks like Merck is taking steps to be a larger player in HCV market.

An emerging epidemic of acute hepatitis C threatens the country's younger population, which experienced a significant hike in the number of cases during a recent 6-year period, according to a compound study that looked at trends of the disease among youth.

The issue of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing, which increases duration of treatment and hospital length of stay, is complicated in the surgical suite.