August 2018


Illustration by Sarah Ferone

Procalcitonin: Promise and pitfalls

Uptake of procalcitonin testing has been slow in U.S. hospitals, but experts say the biomarker could help with antibiotic stewardship efforts.

Baking hospitalist training into residency

Although half of large internal medicine residency programs offer hospitalist-focused rotations, there are no standards for their structure.

Talking about distress and prognosis at ASCO

Physician-patient communication needs improvement and attention, according to experts at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting.

Avoiding the femoral vein in central venous cannulation: an outdated practice

Contemporary data on central venous cannulation shows safety advantages to using the femoral vein in some cases.

Shifting opioids from IV to subcu

One hospital unit found a simple strategy to help combat the opioid epidemic.

Chronic kidney disease, including transplants

The stage of chronic kidney disease is crucial to accurate documentation and can only be correctly assigned when glomerular filtration rate is at a stable baseline.

Short-coat tradition ends for Johns Hopkins interns

After some pushback from trainees, the newest class of interns at Johns Hopkins received long white coats.

Patient deaths linked to weight-loss device

Details on the latest recalls, warnings, and approvals.

Procalcitonin and other changes in medicine

This issue focuses on procalcitonin testing, hospitalist training in residency, oncology care communication, and femoral access for central lines.

On Her Majesty's hospital service

Read about the health care adventures of Spond, Dr. Jane Spond, pager number 00007.

MKSAP quiz on oncology

This month's quiz includes questions from ACP's Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program (MKSAP 17) on oncology care.