Syphilis is on the rise. Across North America, we are seeing syphilis rates unheard of since we abandoned the lambskin condom. (OK, I have no idea if that is factually accurate, but I always imagined syphilis and lambskin going hand in hand.) In Canada, there were 96 cases of congenital […]
infectious diseases
10 posts
My initial evidence update for Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) contained exactly no evidence, because nothing was published, despite recommendations at that time from multiple organizations. Sadly, two years into the pandemic, a large portion of the medical community still seems willing to act based solely on drug company press releases. The EPIC-HR […]
I don’t think that the concept of “aerosol generating medical procedures” (AGMP) is well supported by scientific evidence. However, this terminology is so widely employed that I will use it throughout this series of posts on high risk medical procedures. The term “AGMP” is really used to identify clinical scenarios […]
I am working hard on updating all the evidence around “aerosol generating medical procedures” or AGMPs, but I think this is a failed and probably harmful paradigm. I will still complete my write-ups because the terminology is so widely used, but I think we would all be better off if […]
In early April, I wrote a long post covering all the science I could find about aerosols and droplets. The basic summary was that this is an area of medicine with lots of misconceptions, poor assumptions, and incomplete science. There was good evidence that previous coronaviruses were spread by aerosols. […]
I hope to get back to normal emergency medicine literature sometime soon, but for now there is enough new COVID-19 research that I think another COVID specific research roundup is worthwhile. In this edition, I will tackle some more evidence that COVID can be spread by the airborne route, some […]
One of the true values of evidence based medicine is that it provides you with a systematic approach to new questions; an approach that should provide the best possible answer. Just a few months ago, I had never even considered the difference between a droplet and an aerosol. Now, I […]
December 1,2020: This post was based on the best available evidence at the beginning of the pandemic (March-April 2020). The information contained is still very relevant, but there is also now an updated/companion review specifically looking at the transmission of COVID-19 (and concluding aerosols play a very important role in […]
In the Rapid Review series, I briefly review the key points of a clinical review paper. The topic this time: Leptospirosis