False Alarm? Critical Antibiotic Combination Used for Millions of Patients May Not Carry a Previously Reported Risk
Patients come to a hospital nearly 36 million times each year in the US, and antibiotics are often part of the picture: One large study showed that clinicians prescribed them […]
Finding the Right Logic for Masking Rules
If Philadelphia’s masking policy aims to prevent spread of Covid-19, emphasizing hospitalization numbers, a lagging indicator, over case numbers isn’t wise, comments Michael Levy, PhD. “It’s like instead of using […]
Innovative Text Messaging Plus a Nursing Team: Dramatic Covid Results Hint at Broader, Equitable Potential
At the start of the pandemic, professionals working in health systems across the US realized that if a sizable portion of the many people infected with SARS-CoV-2 went to hospitals, […]
Many Hospitalized for Other Ailments Test Positive for Covid, Too
Amid the omicron surge, more patients are coming into the hospital for other reasons but testing positive for Covid-19 once they arrive. M. Kit Delgado, MD, MS, says that many […]
Not Really a “˜White Man’s Disease’
A diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis finally explained Christi Taylor-Gentry’s throbbing joint pain. But as recently as 2006, when Alexis Ogdie-Beatty, MD, MSCE, became a doctor, she was taught that the […]
With Climate Change, More Cases of Kidney Stones
In addition to making events such as catastrophic flooding more frequent, climate change will negatively affect human health in many other ways. Prior research has demonstrated, for instance, that high […]
A Budding Epidemiologist Tests Positive
Epidemiology PhD candidate Katherine Strelau reached a new understanding when she tested positive for Covid-19: We have entered a new era of the pandemic, she wrote in an opinion piece. […]
Can Pandemic Pressure Change Clinical Trials From Now On?
“We may have underestimated our ability to pivot and change rapidly,” Peter Merkel, M D, MPH, comments about the many ways Covid-19 has reshaped the way we conduct clinical trials ” […]
The Delicate Balance of Pregnancy Research
“Pregnant women CAN drink coffee – it could even slash risk of disease for mum and baby,” proclaimed a headline in the English paper The Sun about a recent study […]
Blood Still Needed, Pandemic or Not
Hospitals in Philly are facing a bad blood shortage. During a pandemic, people still get into accidents and get cancer that requires transfusions, says Meenakshi Bewtra, MD, PhD, MPH. Read […]
Medical School Diversity: Why Aren’t We There Yet?
Why haven’t medical schools achieved real diversity? Reason #1: We must shift away from an applicant-deficit lens and recognize that diversity failures result from deficiencies in our educational and (supposedly) […]
Achieving a Healthy Weight: More Intensive and Tailored Individual Strategies May Be Best
Given rising rates of obesity in the U.S. and the many associated health problems, researchers have tested various strategies for weight loss. Both financial incentives and environmental changes — such […]
What to Expect With a Breakthrough COVID-19 Infection
The experience of a Covid-19 breakthrough infection can range “from being asymptomatic to feeling pretty lousy, but typically it’s a shorter course than what we’re seeing for COVID without the […]
Smartwatch Blood Pressure Not Ready for Debut
Measuring blood pressure is hard, and getting it right is critical. Can we do it with a smartwatch? That technology is “not ready for primetime yet,” says Jordana Cohen, MD, […]
Slowing Delta in Philadelphia
To slow spread of the Covid-19 delta variant, Philadelphia needs an even greater, on-the-ground push for more vaccination, comments Michael Levy, PhD: “This thing is just about momentum.” Read the […]
Eviction Risk High, COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Low
Michael Z. Levy, PhD, warned that the looming return of evictions comes at a time when COVID-19 vaccination rates in the U.S. have plateaued and while the highly transmissible Delta […]
Festivals on a Different Footing
Can a music festival be safe during the Covid-19 pandemic? It’s not so much about attendees’ personal risk, comments Michael Levy, PhD. It’s about what happens when they bring the […]
Breast Cancer Diagnosis in the ‘Between’ Year: Body Mass Index Matters
Although mammography reduces breast cancer mortality by 15 to 20 percent, the diagnosis in many cases — approximately 15 percent of all breast cancers — occurs after a patient has […]
Patients with Chronic Non-Cancer Pain: Adding to the Options for Relief
While many studies have looked at how to limit patients to a short course of opioids, few have examined the other side of the issue: Are there some patients for […]
Helping Teens to Concentrate on Driving
M. Kit Delgado, MD, MS, commented on evidence-based tips to help teens reduce distraction when driving. Read the article in the Wall Street Journal
Consequences of Overturning the Eviction Ban
Michael Z. Levy, PhD, commented on the potential public health consequences of a federal judge’s ruling (later staid, temporarily, by the US Justice Deptl) to end the CDC’s national eviction […]
Halting Evictions Helped Reduce Spread of COVID-19 in Philadelphia
The CDC’s order prohibiting evictions in fall ” winter 2020 likely prevented thousands of COVID-19 infections per million metropolitan residents, showed a study co-led by Michael Z. Levy, PhD. Dr. […]
An “End” of the Pandemic?
It will be hard to say when the COVID-19 pandemic is “over” in the United States, says Michael Z. Levy, PhD. “These things don’t necessarily end cleanly,” he said in […]
On the Ground Strategies
“When you have the whole world working on something at the same time “the evidence evolves fast,” Meghan Brooks Lane-Fall, MD, MSHP, FCCM, commented about COVID-19 care. “Every time I […]
What AIDS Can Teach Us About Covid Behavior
The parallels between AIDS and Covid-19 are striking, comments Robert Gross, MD, MSCE. Both are spread asymptomatically, and shaming over whether one does or doesn’t wear a mask is not […]
Equalizing Access to Clinical Trials
Typically underserved groups are underrepresented in therapeutic clinical trials” so the findings may be less applicable for them. Sean Hennessy, PharmD, PhD, describes how experimental treatment has benefited his wife […]
Why Are So Many Black Americans Dying of COVID-19?
Across the United States, black Americans are dying from COVID-19 at disproportionately higher rates than their white counterparts. If the data from other large cities hold true in Philadelphia ” […]
What a Ventilator Shortage Means During COVID-19 ” and How We Can Help
We believe that as many as one million Americans will need the support of ventilators ” five times the number we have, writes critical care physician Meghan Brooks Lane-Fall, MD, […]