Primary Care Update

Our mentor, colleague, fellow podcaster, and dear friend John Hickner died peacefully at home on August 22nd at age 72. As we grieve, we want to share some stories about John that exemplify why he was the kindest, most thoughtful, and most decent person we have had the privilege to know. 

This week Kate, Henry and Mark discuss motivational interviewing for weight loss, intensive vs standard urate lowering in persons with gout, and screening high risk persons for anal cancer.

This week, Kate, Henry and Mark discuss how much statins lower mortality, the cost-effectiveness of the new crop of Alzheimer's drugs, and whether surgery is helpful for a range of orthopedic conditions. 

This week, Kate, Mark and Henry will discuss secondary hypertension in children, TENS for persons with renal colic, and CTA vs angiography in persons with suspected stable CAD.

John has the week off, so Kate, Mark and Henry plow forward rudderless and talk about monkeypox (sorry, WHO, we're not calling it hMKPX, buy a vowel), screening for atrial fibrillation, and our new candidate for worst drug ever: aducanumab for Alzheimer dementia.

This week, Kate, Mark, Henry and John discuss the added value of coronary calcium scores, the natural history of prediabetes in older adults, using ketamine in suicidal persons, and whether antidepressant combination or monotherapy is better in severe or refractory depression. 

Kate, John, Henry and Mark (he set his alarm this time) are back to talk about a new treatment for female stress urinary incontinence, air cleaners for preventing COPD exacerbations in smokers, surgery vs non-operative management of Achilles tendon rupture, and whether switching among levothyroxine generics is a problem.

This week Mark slept in, so Kate, John and Henry talk about British guidelines for treatment of rosacea, what to do when Dr. Google comes to the office, and Vitamin D and COVID.

This week, Kate leads us on a special Mother's Day edition focused on women's health. Topics discussed by Kate, John and Henry (Mark is in Würzburg busily pontificating) include prevention of preterm delivery, statins during pregnancy, and aromatherapy for postmenopausal symptoms.

This week Kate, Henry and Mark discuss updated guideline recommendations for treatment of VTE, weight loss drugs, and the increased risk of cardiovascular events following COVID-19 infection. John has the week off.

This week, Kate, Mark, Henry and John pick their 4 favorite POEMs from the first 99 episodes. We'll dig into aspirin, beer before wine or vice versa, chronotherapy for hypertension, and asthma diagnosis. And thanks for being our audience for 100 episodes! Keep listening, and spread the word to friends and colleagues.

Join family physicians Kate Rowland, Mark Ebell and John Hickner this week as they discuss the best NSAID for acute low back pain, a study on masks in schools to reduce COVID incidence, antipsychotics, and the benefits of fluoride varnish and supplements in kids. 

A diverse set of POEMs from Kate, John, Henry and Mark: CDC COVID mitigation and vaccination updates, non-opioid post-op pain management, a guideline for managing persons with IBS, and the challenges of communicating risk with words

This week our skeptics discuss the best topical acne treatments, hypoglycemia in nursing home residents, the best antiplatelet therapy after minor stroke or TIA, and whether lockdowns reduced COVID-19 mortality.

This week Kate, Henry, Mark and John are all over the map, with 4 new studies on the safety of Janus Kinase inhibitors, midodrine for recurrent vasovagal syncope, empagliflozin for heart failure (not DM) and peppermint oil for irritable bowel syndrome. 

This week Kate, Mark, Henry and John talk about measuring temps in kids, implantable monitors to diagnose afib, procalcitonin in primary care, and HPV based cervical cancer screening

This week family physicians Kate, John, Henry and Mark discuss best practices for vaccine uptake, fluvoxamine for outpatients with COVID, Paxlovid for outpatients with COVID, and the benefits and harms of lowering BP in older persons.

This week, family physicians Kate, John, Henry and Mark will discuss whether mortality really increases over the holidays, the best way to prep patients for ear wax removal, whether high dose amoxicillin is effective for kids with lower respiratory infection, and how effective vaccines are against omicron. Plus a special Christmas quiz!

This week on Primary Care Update we talk about group PT visits for urinary incontinence in women older than 60, managing uncomplicated forearm fractures in children, a COVID testing strategy for keeping kids in school, and a quadpill for treating hypertension

This week Kate, Henry, John and Mark discuss whether iron supplementation provides real benefits for anemic infants, IL6 antagonists for COVID, inhaled corticosteroids for COVID, and platelet rich plasma for Achilles tendinopathy. 

This week, Kate, John, Mark and Henry discuss music to improve sleep and cognition in older adults, lung cancer screening in an organized health system, a comparison of 2 agents for VTE prophylaxis after total knee arthroplasty, and a new pain guideline with a surprising recommendation.

This week, join Kate, John, Henry and Mark for a discussion of pumpkin seed oil for BPH symptoms, open label placebo for post-op pain, muscle relaxants for low back pain, and the implications of universal depression screening. 

Join Kate, Henry, John and Mark as they discuss antivirals in children hospitalized with influenza, DAPT for secondary stroke prevention, the safety and effectiveness of no-test medical abortions, and harms of overtreating older persons with T2DM.

Kate, Mark, John and Henry discuss the value of three doses of mRNA vaccine for immunocompromised people, Ivermectin for treating persons with COVID-19, the benefits of boosters based on Israeli data, and pregnancy outcomes of women with COVID-19 infection. 

This week Kate, Mark, Henry and John (he's back!) discuss dexamethasone after major non-cardiac surgery, topical terbinafine for onychomycosis, thromboprophylaxis during knee replacement, and mRNA COVID vaccine adverse events