In the News
Many recent studies reporting on COVID-19 vaccines' safety, effectiveness
New studies looked at the safety of the adenovirus COVID-19 vaccines, the effectiveness of almost all the vaccines, and the impacts of COVID-19 infection in pregnancy and on long-term cardiac function. A physician columnist addressed pandemic-related anger.
Limits on opioid prescribing didn't change overdoses, but did reduce adverse effects
A study of primary care patients analyzed the effects of a Vermont policy that limited the dose and duration of opioid prescriptions based on pain severity and required prescription drug monitoring program checks.
MKSAP Quiz: Persistent dyspepsia despite treatment
A 65-year-old man is evaluated for persistent dyspepsia despite treatment with antacid therapy. He also has recent weight loss of 3 kg (6.6 lb) and development of epigastric abdominal pain. Following a physical exam, biopsy, and CT scan, what is the most appropriate management?
Guideline addresses viral testing in patients with community-acquired pneumonia
The new American Thoracic Society guideline opposes routine use of nucleic acid-based testing for noninfluenza viral pathogens in outpatients with community-acquired pneumonia but identifies some uses for the tests in inpatients.
ACP recommends caution in the use of patient-reported outcome-based performance measures
Data are needed to demonstrate that patient-reported outcome-based performance measures improve quality of care and are an effective tool to accurately compare physician performance, a new paper said.
ACP offers resources on information sharing, addresses health IT privacy protections
New resources and information from ACP aim to help physicians deal with information-sharing rules, while an ACP position paper makes recommendations to improve privacy protections and increase trust in health information technology (IT).
Put words in our mouth
ACP Internist Weekly wants readers to create captions for our new cartoon and help choose the winner. Pen the winning caption and win a $50 gift certificate good toward any ACP product, program, or service.