As the COVID-19 pandemic rages in our various cities, it is important to remember that as of today there are no proven effective therapies. Still it is very difficult to watch people die despite your care. With about a thousand lives already lost to SARS-CoV-2 in the United States, everybody is scrambling to find therapeutics […]
Twitter for Infectious Disease Physicians
Infectious disease (ID) conferences tend to rejuvenate me despite the information overload. This year, IDWeek in Washington DC was no different except for the impact of social media particularly Twitter. The last time I attended IDWeek in New Orleans ( 2016), one of the themes was gloom. We were struggling to fill ID fellowship spots. […]
Acute Kidney Injury with Concomitant Vancomycin & Pip/Tazo (Vancosyn, Vanczosyn, Vosyn)
Recently, a nephrologist I work with chased me down to ask my opinion of the new and interesting study that concludes concomitant vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam (hereforth to be called vancosyn) was more nephrotoxic than concomitant vancomycin and cefepime (vancopime). “Yes, indeed, I have heard the data but which study are you calling new?” I wondered. […]
America’s Ebola Mayhem Continues
An elderly Black woman goes to visit her family in Jamaica. Soon after returning home to the United States she has a fever and presents to the Emergency Room for evaluation. She is triaged into a solitary room where no-one takes her vitals and no-one evaluates her. Instead, the Emergency Room physician places a call […]
Sepsis Drug XIGRIS withdrawn from worldwide markets for lack of efficacy
In what is breaking news today in the field of medicine, the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly announced that activated drotrecogin alfa (XIGRIS) is to be pulled off all markets including the United States. This drug, intended to treat severe sepsis, has been shown in the new PROWESS-SHOCK trial to be no better than placebo in […]