Hospital Medicine
Physician discussions on inpatient care, transitions of care, diagnostic reasoning, and hospital-based protocols.
Recent Discussions
In patients with suspected RCVS, is there a role for preventative CCB if headache has resolved/now asymptomatic?
In short, the use of CCBs in RCVS is only for the prevention of thunderclap headache (TCH) recurrence. Since their purpose is to prevent TCH recurrence, they are often used when the patient is asymptomatic as well (i.e., even after the index TCH has resolved). They do have no impact on eventual clin...
When do you recommend starting a continuous opioid infusion for symptom control at the end of life?
If the RN who is at the bedside and administering intermittent opiate doses is reporting hourly administration/dosing needs, then an infusion may be warranted to optimize pain, comfort, and/or control of symptoms.
When do you recommend starting a continuous opioid infusion for symptom control at the end of life?
If the RN who is at the bedside and administering intermittent opiate doses is reporting hourly administration/dosing needs, then an infusion may be warranted to optimize pain, comfort, and/or control of symptoms.
What is your protocol for conscious sedation during T&O insertion?
I have used many forms of anesthesia for cervix HDR and all have some disadvantage. For the last couple of years I have moved to spinal anesthesia which has been ideal for our workflow. Patients receive a single dose of bupivicaine via CRNA/anesthesia team in our in brachy suite. The provides about ...
How do you approach a medically inoperable patient with clinically stage 2 grade 1 endometrioid endometrial carcinoma with heavy vaginal bleeding that is refractory to EBRT and requiring inpatient management with transfusions?
Tough case that requires some individualized care- I’d favor brachy if not resectable.
Do you take patients off anticoagulation for tandem and ovoid or tandem and ring procedures?
We don't take them off anti coagulant for intracaviatry alone unless using a hybrid applicator
How would you approach diagnosis of residual ovarian tissue in a patient with ER positive breast cancer, history of BSO, and a rising estradiol level on tamoxifen?
Diagnosing elevated estrogen levels in a patient who has undergone BSO is difficult, since the symptoms are typically very non-specific (e.g., improvement in hot flashes, change in mood). There are multiple potential reasons for elevated estrogen levels following BSO, including an adrenal tumor that...
Have you adopted the use of low dose morphine for treatment of cough in patients with IPF?
Yes, I selectively use low-dose morphine for the treatment of chronic cough (lasting more than 8 weeks) in certain patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).This includes individuals who demonstrate somewhat preserved lung function (specifically, a forced vital capacity [FVC] of 45% or more ...
Do you consider extensive clot burden as a factor in determining whether patients with submassive PE may be appropriate for thrombolytic therapy?
I don't either. I think it is fairly clear that mortality in PE correlates to hemodynamic effect and RV function, rather than clot burden (see Hariharan et al., PMID 27742425; Furlan et al., PMID 22993221), likely related to acute pulmonary hypertension caused by endogenous elaboration of such media...
What aspects on history and physical exam could help differentiate genetic muscular dystrophy from immune-mediated myopathy?
Great question, and one that comes up all the time in clinical practice. Unfortunately, the question gets a little bit complicated because of the heterogeneity of the musculodystrophies, metabolic myopathies, and neuropathies that can mimic myositis (not to mention the phenotypic variation between t...