CMAJ Podcasts

Who should be screened for colorectal cancer? How often? What screening method should be used? Dr. Maria Bacchus, internist at Foothills Hospital in Calgary and Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Calgary, explains in this podcast. Dr. Bacchus is one of the authors of this 2016 Canadian Task Force colorectal cancer screening guideline published in the CMAJ.Full g...

Interview with two authors of a large population-based study from Ontario. The authors looked at risk of suicide following a concussion. They also compared weekend versus weekend concussion. Dr. Donald Redelmeier is a general internist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, professor in the department of medicine at the University of Toronto, and senior scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evalu...

Interview with Dr. Derek MacFadden, infectious diseases physician practising at the University Health Network in Toronto as well as doctoral student in infectious disease epidemiology at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health in Boston. Dr. MacFadden is the co-author of a practice article published in the CMAJ. He tells us what we need to know about the Zika virus, which is spreading rapidly thr...

For out-of-hospital cardiac arrest occurring in high-rise residential buildings, the survival rate is lower for patients on higher floors, according to findings of a large retrospective database study from Ontario. The logistics of delivering emergency care in high-rise buildings may contribute to lower survival. In this podcast, Dr. Matthew Stanbrook, deputy editor for CMAJ, interviews Ian Drenna...

RCTs of treatment as prevention have shown significant prevention of onward HIV transmission among serodiscordant couples, but observational studies of clinical practice have not consistently replicated these findings. There are particular concerns among men who have sex with men (MSM). In this podcast, Dr. Paul MacPherson explores some of the issues. Dr. MacPherson is a specialist in the Division...

Diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is essential to improve outcomes for affected individuals and families, and to inform pre-pregnancy counselling to prevent future cases. This guideline from the Canada Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Research Network provides evidence-based recommendations for best practices in the diagnosis of this condition. In this podcast, two of the authors of the...

If physician-assisted death becomes legal in Canada, physicians need to know whether and, if so, how to record it on medical certificates of death. In this podcast, Jocelyn Downie, Professor in the Faculties of Law and Medicine, and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Law, at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, discusses the best approach by examining current practice a...

There is mounting evidence now suggesting that prematurity may lead to a variety of adult diseases, such as hypertension, obstructive lung disease, or osteopenia. However, there is little guidance for physicians on how to provide proper long-term follow-up for their patients who were born preterm. In this podcast, two of the co-authors of a review article published in CMAJ, Dr. Tuy Mai Luu, clinic...

The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame will soon honour Dr. Mark Wainberg for his achievements in HIV research and AIDS advocacy. From the initial identification of 3TC, one of the most widely used HIV treatments, to drawing unprecedented attention to global disparities in access to antiretrovirals as president of the International AIDS Society, Dr. Wainberg's work has helped save millions of live...

Interview with Dr. Kevin Pottie, Associate Professor of Family Medicine, and Epidemiology & Community Medicine at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Pottie is also Principal Scientist at the C.T. Lamont Primary Health Care Research Centre, Bruyère Research Institute at the University of Ottawa. As people age, changes to the structure and the function of the brain may result in cognitive decline. Th...

Some 800,000 migrants from Africa and the Middle East have made the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe this year. Many suffer from untreated injuries and medical conditions, and more than 3,000 have died or gone missing at sea. In this podcast, CMAJ News reporter Lauren Vogel interviews Dr. Simon Bryant, an Alberta physician who experienced the crisis first-hand volunteering o...

Interview with Matthew Smith, senior lecturer at the Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland. Dr. Smith discusses his humanities article called: "Witchcraft, fad or a racket?" Food allergy in historical perspective. Full article: https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.150575To request a transcript of this podcast, contact...

Interview with Dr. Shannon Humphrey, medical and cosmetic dermatologist in Vancouver, and assistant professor and director of CME in the Department of Dermatology and Skin Science at the University of British Columbia. Acne can adversely affect quality of life and may lead to emotional distress and permanent scarring. This evidence-based guideline was developed to facilitate efficient diagnosis an...

Canada’s new Liberal government must soon decide whether to follow through on plans to replace Correctional Investigator Howard Sapers. Earlier this year, the former Conservative government gave Sapers a temporary contract pending his replacement. Since 2004, Sapers has challenged the government’s treatment of Aboriginal offenders and inmates with mental illness. In this podcast, he joins CMAJ rep...

Interview with Dr. Alvaro Morales, urologist and Professor Emeritus at Queen’s University School of Medicine in Kingston, Ontario. Dr. Morales and a team of experts have published evidence-based guidelines in the CMAJ for the diagnosis and management of testosterone deficiency syndrome in men. This guideline addresses clinical questions surrounding the diagnosis of testosterone deficiency and the...

Interview with Dr. Elissa Abrams, Pediatric Allergist Immunologist with the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. Guidelines used to recommend that parents avoid feeding their infants common allergenic foods in their first year, but expert advice has recently changed. Emerging evidence from randomized controlled trials suggests that early introduction of allergenic foods, parti...

NEW FORMAT. Dr. Diane Kelsall, deputy editor, presents highlights of the October 20th issue of CMAJ. As well, listen to in-depth author interviews on selected articles. In this issue: - Outcomes of delivery by family physicians or obstetricians; interview with author Dr. Kris Aubrey-Bassler (0:56–19:06)- Resting heart rate and variability in old age (19:06–20:05)- CMAJ Open highlights: medical and...

Highlights of the October 6th issue of CMAJ, presented by Dr. John Fletcher, editor-in-chief. In this issue: austerity and fiscal prudence are health issues, food insecurity and annual health care costs, physician experience and patient outcomes, psychedelic medicine as a re-emerging therapy, cardiac Lyme borreliosis, voriconazole-induced periostitis, multifocal strokes with HIV infection, and mor...

Hospitals today can look like shopping malls or, depending on your level of cynicism, Toys R Us. Some scholars of history argue these design changes reflect advances in medical knowledge and technology. But Annmarie Adams, a scholar of medical architecture and director of the McGill University School of Architecture, has a different take. Full article (subscription required): www.cmaj.ca/lookup/do...

Interview with Dr. David Liu, Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Radiology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. In their clinical practice guideline, Dr. Liu and colleagues provide recommendations on the diagnosis and management of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), including anticoagulation, thrombus removal strategies and inferior vena cava filters. The poor outcomes seen...

Highlights of the September 22nd issue of CMAJ, presented by Dr. John Fletcher, editor-in-chief. In this issue: funding for Cochrane Canada must continue, nasal balloon autoinflation as an effective and simple intervention for glue ear, recovery from severe mental illness is more than just symptom management, guidelines for reducing pain during vaccine injections, and more. Full issue table of con...

Interview with Dr. Sheryl Spithoff, addiction medicine specialist and family physician at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto. In a CMAJ analysis article, Dr. Spithoff and colleagues look at policies in jurisdictions where cannabis has already been legalized. A Canadian government formed after October 2015 may move away from prohibitionist policies and create a legal framework for cannabis. If so,...

Interview with Dr. Noni MacDonald, Professor of Pediatrics at Dalhousie University with a clinical appointment in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Recent evidence from Ontario suggests that vaccine hesitancy and refusal may be on the rise. In a commentary published in CMAJ, Dr. MacDonald and colleague Ève Dubé discuss the importance of immunization su...

In older adults living in long-term care facilities, fractures cause pain, agitation, immobility and transfer to hospital. Based on systematic reviews of the evidence, this guideline provides recommendations to prevent fractures in this vulnerable group. These evidence-based strategies are presented by Dr. Alexandra Papaioannou, Professor of Medicine at McMaster University in the Division of Geria...

Highlights of the September 8th issue of CMAJ, presented by Dr. Diane Kelsall, deputy editor. In this issue: rethinking treatment in older patients with spinal cord injury, why the federal government must play an active role in health care, imaging for early stage breast cancer, regulating electronic cigarettes, the need for speed in acute ischemic stroke, and more. Full issue table of contents: w...