What's it Worth? A Journal Club Podcast

Cytomegalovirus — or CMV — is one of those transplant complications that sits at the intersection of infectious diseases, immunosuppression, medication access, monitoring, and toxicity. In high-risk kidney transplant recipients, valganciclovir has long been a standard prophylaxis option, but its use can be limited by myelosuppression, renal dose adjustments, and real-world logistics. In this episo...

Stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation is always a balancing act: reduce clot risk without causing unacceptable bleeding. For years, oral anticoagulants have been the cornerstone of that decision. But what happens when a device enters the conversation? In this episode, host Dr. Diana Langworthy is joined by Dr. Jen Osborn , cardiology clinical pharmacy specialist at UMMC East Bank Hospital and r...

Welcome back to  What's it Worth? In this episode, we tackle treatment options for a common mental health concern - anxiety. Your host, Dr. Diana Langworthy, is joined by Dr. Lucas Kosobuski , an inpatient pharmacist at St. Luke's in Duluth with prior experience providing ambulatory care services in an inpatient substance use treatment program. Together, they decode a 2025 systematic review and ne...

In this What's It Worth? For Everyone episode, we're asking: Can lavender oil help with anxiety? If you've ever felt anxious before a big test, job interview, medical appointment, or major life event, you're not alone. But when is anxiety a normal response to stress — and when is it something more, like generalized anxiety disorder? In this episode, we talk about the difference between short-term...

In Part 2 of our back-to-back series on the novel frontier of Factor XI inhibition, host Dr. Diana Langworthy and student co-hosts Caleb Nelson-Lange and Tim Haas dive into the AZALEA-TIMI 71 trial. Following our Part 1 discussion on the early termination of the OCEANIC-AF trial (asundexian), we turn our attention to abelacimab —a high-affinity, fully human monoclonal antibody that targets Factor...

In this What's It Worth? For Everyone episode, we're asking: Are we waiting too long for new treatments? If you've ever heard about a promising new medication, peptide, or breakthrough therapy and wondered, "If it works so well, why isn't everyone using it yet?" —you're not alone. It can feel frustrating to hear about exciting discoveries while waiting years before they become part of routine heal...

Welcome to Part 1 of our "What's it Worth?" deep dive into the next generation of anticoagulation. In this episode, host Dr. Diana Langworthy and student co-hosts Tim Haas  and Caleb Nelson-Lange take on the OCEANIC-AF trial. This Phase 3, non-inferiority trial was designed to prove that the oral Factor XIa inhibitor, asundexian, could match the gold-standard apixaban in preventing stroke while si...

For patients with atrial fibrillation and chronic liver disease, the "correct" anticoagulation strategy has long been a clinical catch-22. Balancing the high risk of stroke against the elevated risk of catastrophic bleeding—all while navigating a lack of randomized controlled trial (RCT) data—leaves clinicians in a difficult position. In this episode, host Dr. Diana Langworthy is joined by Dr. Eri...

In this What's It Worth? For Everyone episode, we're talking about AFib, blood thinners, and liver disease. AFib stands for atrial fibrillation. It is a common heart rhythm problem that can increase the risk of stroke. Because of that stroke risk, many people with AFib are prescribed a blood thinner. But what if someone has AFib and also has liver disease or cirrhosis? That decision can be more co...

Welcome to What's It Worth? For Everyone — a shorter, everyone-friendly version of What's It Worth? focused on making health evidence clearer, calmer, and easier to use. In this episode, Dr. Diana Langworthy revisits the recent What's It Worth? long-form discussion with Dr. Tory Pressman and Dr. Alexis Quade about Tylenol — also known as acetaminophen or paracetamol — during pregnancy and concerns...

Welcome back to What's it Worth! Join your host, Dr. Diana Langworthy, and guests Dr. Alexis Quade and Dr. Tory Pressman, as they break down a 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating prenatal paracetamol exposure and child neurodevelopmental outcomes, including autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and intellectual disability. After renewed public a...

Welcome back to What's it Worth! Join your host, Dr. Diana Langworthy, and guest host Tim Haas, PharmD Candidate 2028, as they break down the COBRRA trial — a head-to-head comparison of apixaban vs. rivaroxaban for the treatment of acute venous thromboembolism (VTE), including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). For years, clinicians have debated whether one DOAC may carry a lo...

Welcome back to What's it Worth! For over 70 years, the treatment of schizophrenia has been synonymous with dopamine  D2  receptor blockade—until now. Join your host, Dr. Diana Langworthy, and guest Dr. Alexandra Rola (Psychiatry Clinical Pharmacist and Assistant Professor at Binghamton University) as they dive into the EMERGENT-3 trial. We're dissecting the efficacy and safety of xanomeline-trosp...

Welcome back to What's it Worth! In this episode, your host Dr. Diana Langworthy is joined by Mia Lussier, PharmD, MS , Clinical Assistant Professor at Binghamton University and ambulatory care specialist, to dissect the results of the SURPASS-CVOT trial . As the first large-scale trial directly comparing a dual GLP-1/GIP agonist to a proven GLP-1 receptor agonist for cardiovascular outcomes, we a...

Welcome back to What's it Worth! Join your hosts, Dr. Diana Langworthy and guest Dr. Rachel Khan (Associate Professor at VCU School of Pharmacy), as they navigate the murky waters of renal function assessment in anticoagulant users . This episode dissects a critical insight from the ORBIT-AF II registry : the variability in DOAC (NOAC) dose eligibility when labs use newer kidney estimates . While...

In this brief 2026 season opener, host Diana Langworthy, PharmD, BCPS pauses to acknowledge the weight of the moment—particularly here in Minnesota—where uncertainty, fear, and harm are being felt in very real ways across communities. This episode is not about policy analysis or debate. It's a reflection on what it means to hold space for thinking, teaching, and care when the world feels unstable—...

Welcome back What's it Worth? listeners. This episode steps away from traditional trial critique. It's a year-end reflection on what it means to practice evidence-based healthcare at a moment when trust in science, institutions, and clinicians is eroding—and when evidence itself is increasingly being misused to create fear rather than understanding. This episode is for frontline healthcare profess...

Episode Summary Secondary prophylaxis after spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) has long been considered standard of care—but how strong is the evidence behind it? In this episode, host Dr. Diana Langworthy is joined by Dr. Ben Webber (hospital medicine physician) and Danielle Luettel (PharmD Candidate 2026) to unpack a contemporary observational study examining outcomes associated with SBP pr...

Episode Summary SURMOUNT-5 delivers the first head-to-head comparison of  tirzepatide vs semaglutide in adults with obesity but without diabetes. In this episode, host Dr. Diana Langworthy and expert guest Dr. Kylee Funk (clinical pharmacist in primary care at Mill City Clinic specializing in weight management and diabetes) unpack the trial's design, results, interpretation, safety considerations,...

🧠 Episode Summary Could a medication designed for weight loss change how we think about migraine prevention? In this episode, host Diana Langworthy  sits down with returning guest Dr. Natalie Heinrich, PharmD  and student contributor Nena Abosi, PharmD Candidate 2026 to unpack a 2025 Headache pilot study evaluating liraglutide as an add-on therapy for adults with obesity and high-frequency or chr...

New population-based study suggests SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists may reduce COPD exacerbations in patients with type 2 diabetes. In this episode of What's It Worth? , we examine a large real-world study assessing whether glucose-lowering medications influence the risk of COPD exacerbations in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease . We focus on SGLT...

Can stable patients with uncomplicated Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia finish therapy by mouth? The SABATO trial tested early oral switch versus full-course IV therapy. In this episode, we decode the  SABATO trial - a randomized, open-label, non-inferiority study that compared continued intravenous (IV) antibiotics with an early oral switch in low-risk Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) . Gue...

Large Danish study finds no link between aluminum-containing childhood vaccines and chronic diseases — including autism and ADD/ADHD. In this episode, we unpack the 2025 Annals of Internal Medicine study evaluating whether early-life exposure to aluminum-adsorbed vaccines is associated with autoimmune, allergic, or neurodevelopmental outcomes such as autism spectrum disorder or ADHD. We review the...

Welcome back to What's it Worth! Join your host, Dr. Diana Langworthy and returning co-host Dr. Meade Avery (2025 U of MN CoP Grad!!) as we PrEP are our clinical conclusions about a novel antiviral for HIV prevention. We also welcome an HIV expert, Dr. Daniel (Jude) Holt, who is a clinical pharmacist at North Memorial Health in the Infectious Diseases clinic.   The study we critique compares twice...

Welcome back to What's it Worth! Join your hosts, Dr. Diana Langworthy and Dr. Peyton Braun (PGY1 Pharmacy Resident), as we sift through strengths and limitations of at trial assessing the effects of empagliflozin on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.  The authors sought to quantify the impact of Sodium Glucose Cotransporter 2 - inhibitors (SGLT2i's) on Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Liver Diseas...