Physician-informed medical book reviews and clinical education resources.
Primary Care Otolaryngology is a free downloadable publication by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. You can get it here. The original version of the book was written by J. Gregory Staffel, MD more than fifteen years ago and was most recently updated in 2011. It was written primarily for medical students, but it would serve … Read more
My overall favorable impression of the 2013 EMRA Antibiotic Guide is similar to that of the 2011 edition, about which I wrote: For almost any infectious disease, the text advises you about which antibiotic to use, along with the appropriate dose, route, frequency and duration. In addition, the text provides you with various alternatives and contingency antibiotic … Read more
I’ve been looking at Acid-Base Case Studies (2004) by Ira Kurtz MD for a long time now, at least since I’ve written several months ago, wrongly, that a solid book with a case-based approach to acid-base disorders does not exist. It does in fact exist, and this is it. The book presents the reader with dozens of clinical … Read more
The following is a comprehensive differential diagnosis and workup for seizures. The workup is (obviously!) not something that you have to do for every patient. You can, however, use the information below for standardized test preparation and to guide your thought process as you work up patients with seizures. Please let me know if there’s anything that you … Read more
Pocket Guide for Huszar’s Basic Dysrhythmias and Acute Coronary Syndromes: Interpretation and Management (2011) by Keith Wesley MD is a very good entry level electrocardiography book for medical students. (I previously recommended this book in Step 3 of Electrocardiography: A Curriculum for Self-Guided Learners.) The 200-page handbook contains good examples of most of the important … Read more
The task of the medical image reader is, ultimately, to recognize images, that is to compare the image on a screen to one that is already etched into theradiologist’s consciousness. As the author notes: “‘Burned’ into the neurons of a radiologists brain are mental images of what a normal frontal chest radiograph looks like, what thoracic sarcoidosis … Read more
The following is an expanded differential diagnosis of shock. Please let me know if you’d consider adding anything to the list! Cardiogenic Arrhythmias Impaired contractility (volume overload, ischemia, drugs, toxins, electrolyte disorders) Structural problems (valvular abnormalities, etc.) Obstructive Endovascular: pulmonary embolus, atrial myxoma or thrombus Exo-vascular: cardiac tamponade, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, tension pneumothorax, tension mediastinum, breath … Read more