Medical Book Reviews by Mark Yoffe, MD

Back Pain: a “Worst First” Approach

17 July, 201516 May, 2012 by Mark Yoffe, MD

When it comes to back pain, think of the worst, i.e. the most dangerous ones, first. That way you won’t miss anything critical, either in real life or on the Boards. Cardiovascular Upper back pain: consider acute coronary syndrome or thoracic aortic dissection Lower back pain: consider abdominal aortic aneurism or rupture (older smoker) and retroperitoneal hematoma. … Read more

Bradycardia and Sinus Node Dysfunction: an Internal Medicine Approach

21 July, 201515 May, 2012 by Mark Yoffe, MD

Definitions Sinus node dysfunction may include sinus bradycardia, sinus pauses, sinus exit block, sinus arrest, tachy-brady syndrome, persistent atrial standstill and chronotropic incompetence. Symptoms, when present, are usually related to cerebral hypoperfusion. These include dizziness, presyncope, and syncope. Other symptoms include congestive heart failure, fatigue, decrease exercise capacity, recurrent falls, confusion, memory loss, and palpitations or stroke (if … Read more

ECG Pocket Brain (2011) by Ken Grauer MD

4 October, 201414 May, 2012 by Mark Yoffe, MD

There are many hundreds of EKG books in existence, but I can probably count on one or two hands those that I would consider exceptionally good. ECG Pocket Brain by (2011) by Ken Grauer MD is one of the best. You can download a generously-sized excerpt for free here. The book is concise, relevant and very easy to … Read more

Syncope: Differential Diagnosis and Workup

12 October, 201911 May, 2012 by Mark Yoffe, MD

Introduction Syncope is an abrupt, transient, spontaneously-resolving loss of consciousness and postural tone caused by a transient drop in cerebral perfusion. It is a descriptive and an interim diagnosis which requires further clarification. The first step Syncope should be distinguished from alternative causes of loss of consciousness and postural tone. Syncope mimics include seizures, concussions, sleep (both normal … Read more

The 40 Most Burdensome Pathogens in the World

2 October, 20147 May, 2012 by Mark Yoffe, MD

A list of the 40 most burdensome pathogens, in terms of worldwide morbidity and mortality, can be found here. The list includes some of the more obvious pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Plasmodium spp., Human immunodeficiency virus, Influenza virus, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. Less obvious entries are Leptospira spp., Wuchereria bancrofti, and Parvovirus. Not included in … Read more

Toxic and Drug Induced Myopathies

3 October, 201430 April, 2012 by Mark Yoffe, MD

One of the best and most concise review articles that I could find on the subject is Toxic and Drug Induced Myopathies. It was published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry in 2009. It is available for a fee here. Another version of the article is posted free here, however it is not 100% identical in terms of content to … Read more

What do you mean by “dizzy”?

31 August, 201421 April, 2012 by Mark Yoffe, MD

By Mark Yoffe MD I can’t be 100% sure. But if anyone knows, it’s probably Martin A. Samuels MD, who is an expert on the subject and whose excellent publication, Stop the Spinning: A Simple Approach to Vertigo and Dizziness (2009) is available online free. Basically, there are four kinds of dizzy (my interpretation): Syncope or near-syncope … Read more