Welcome to the library blog for MFP Residents!

ResidencyMFP was a service of the Librarian at Montgomery Hospital--a posting of information on library services, tips on searching the medical literature, and items related to residency and to Family Practice. I am leaving the information up in case it is still useful to someone, but due to library closure, the blog will no longer be updated.

Popular Posts on the Residency MFP Blog

Here are quick links to some of the most popular posts on the Residency MFP blog:

1. Tips for Physician Job Searches

2. JNC-7: Guidelines for Treatment of High Blood Pressure

3. PubMed Quick Tip #3: Clinical Queries (finding evidence based articles)

4. Featured Library Books

5. ECG Wave Maven

6. ISCI: Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (treatment guidelines & algorithms)

7. Medical Spanish with Audio

Depression and Primary Care: The MacArthur Initiative

The MacArthur Initiative on Depression and Primary Care

Goals

1. To develop practice systems that facilitate recognition and care of depression;
2. To develop educational programs and tools for primary care that enhance patient care;
3. To evaluate the impact of these programs, tools and models; and
4. To disseminate these ideas and materials to primary care clinicians, medical groups, specialty societies, health plans, and other organizations committed to high quality depression care.

Get Started

Downloads
Includes antidepressant info, toolkit, patient education, and education manuals.

IPAP: International Psychopharmacology Algorithm Project

The International Psychopharmacology Algorithm Project
(IPAP) is a not-for-profit corporation established with the purpose of bringing together experts in psychiatry, psychopharmacology, and algorithm design to enable, enhance, and propagate the use of algorithms for the systematic treatment of major Axis I psychiatric disorders. The approach is polythetic with a central psychiatric focus, utilizing other relevant fields including data modeling, information science (informatics) cognitive science and general medicine. IPAP was founded by Kenneth O. Jobson, MD, who currently serves as chairman of the board of IPAP.

Algorithms include substance abuse, schizophrenia, generalized anxiety disorder, and post traumatic stress syndrome. Free registration is required.

Directory of Health Hotlines from the National Library of Medicine

Health Hotlines from the National Library of Medicine

The National Library of Medicine is pleased to offer this online database of health-related organizations operating toll-free telephone services. The database also includes information on services and publications available in Spanish.

Also available as a Health Hotlines app for your iphone on itunes.

Iowa Neonatology Handbook

Iowa Neonatology Handbook

The Iowa Neonatology Handbook represents an ongoing effort by the Division of Neonatology at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital to provide physicians, nurses, and medical students who care for newborn infants a collection of protocols outlining rational approaches to the care of critically ill neonates. In no way is this document a comprehensive review of the field of neonatology, nor is it implied that the therapeutic approaches outlined in this book are established policies or standards of care. Rather, they represent a compilation of the experience and clinical styles of the members of our division and are intended only as a guide to therapy.

Edward F. Bell, MD
Professor of Pediatrics

Jeffrey L. Segar, MD
Professor of Pediatrics
Director, Division of Neonatology

The University of Iowa

Peer Review Status: Internally Peer Reviewed
First Published: November 8, 1994
Last Revised: January 2006

Congratulations to the Class of 2010!

Best wishes to the graduating residents of 2010! It has been my pleasure to be part of your education.

Resident to Resident Real Estate

R2R Real Estate aims to connect buyers and sellers who are in residency or medical school around the country, for free, as well as discounts for rental apartments.

Founded by Rahul Gokhale, a 2006 graduate of the Orthopaedic Surgery residency program at the University of Cincinnati. Together with his wife, they created Resident to Resident (R2R) Real Estate, LLC. R2R was borne out of frustration with the inability to sell their town home in a timely fashion. Their property was on the market from March 2006 until its sale in August of 2007. For an entire year during his fellowship, they were forced to pay rent in one place and mortgage back in Cincinnati.

Pennsylvania Medical Society Resources for Residents

The Pennsylvania Medical Society offers resources for Residents, and Residents and Fellows get the first year of membership free. After that, dues are 10 percent of full physician rate.

PAMED has a mission to:

Represent physicians in public venues such as government, insurance companies, and the media
Provide members with information, expert services, and support on medical practice issues
Advance public health, public policy, medical science, education, and ethics
Advocate for patients

Join, and you can request a copy of the Physician Contract Checklist to help you evaluate an employment offers: Physician Contract Checklist from PA Medical Society

Physician Contract Review Service from PA Medical Society provides assessment of employment contracts by a professional healthcare attorney at lower rates than many lawyer's fees.

Related Post:
Tips for Physician Job Searches
Tips on Employment Contracts for Residents

Tips for Physician Job Searches

Here are some sites with advice on searching for a job after graduation:

Using Social Networking to Find a Job

Finding the Perfect Job

What to Ask when Recruiters Come Calling

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Demystifying Common Terms in Employment Agreements

FAQ's about Employment Contracts

Family Practice Management articles for new physicians & residents.

The Doctor Job Blog includes info on writing a CV and samples.

Two medical journals have job listing sites:
JAMA CareerNet

NEJM Career Center

For future reference, check out DoctorMap.org, the online job board for Board Certified Physicians, which is accessible only to physicians, with no recruiters.

Related Posts:
Pennsylvania Medical Society Resources for Residents
Tips on Employment Contracts for Residents

Tips on Employment Contracts for Residents

Physician Employment Contract Issues from Physician's News Digest

Anatomy of a Contract from NEJM Career Center

Avoiding Contract Pitfalls from NEJM Career Center

Contract Negotiations from AFP's Practice Management

Contracts: What you need to know from JAMA. A detailed 50+ page document that defines many terms.

Restrictive Covenants in Physician Contracts from JAMA

Physician Compensation Models from NEJM Career Center

New Job? Read the Fine Print from ACP Hospitalist

Related Posts:
Tips for Physician Job Searches
Pennsylvania Medical Society Resources for Residents

Chi: Visual Medical Dictionary

CureHunter is offering Chi: Visual Medical Dictionary provides auto-completion style instant lookup of diseases, drugs and therapeutic techniques. It also goes beyond regular dictionaries by displaying an ontology context tree and interactive network graph of related drugs, diseases and therapies. A sample entry for measles is illustrated below:



Interview with founder of CureHunter

Chest X-Ray Teaching Files

AAIM has a list of Tier 1 Reviews on various topics. The Chest X-Ray links include teaching files, tutorials and quizzes.

Chest X-Rays

University of Kentucky Medical Center's "Chest Radiology"

Score=36/38

University of Virginia's "Introduction to Chest Radiology"

Score=35/38

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences' "Medpix Medical Image Database"

Score=35/38

Yale Center for Advanced Instructional Media

Score=32/38

Featured Library Book: Clinically Oriented Anatomy by Keith Moore

Clinically Oriented Anatomy by Keith Moore(2010) , Sixth Edition, provides clinically oriented anatomical information for study and practice. Comprehensive coverage of anatomy, presented as it relates to the practice of medicine, dentistry, and physical therapy.

The Sixth Edition features a modified interior design with new and improved artwork that further enhances the user-friendliness of the text. The clinical Blue Boxes are now grouped to reduce interruption of text and are categorized with icons to promote easier comprehension of clinical information. The Bottom Line summaries have been refined to clearly call out key points for quick study.

Look for this book in the quick reference section by the animal crackers at QM23.2 .M78 2010. The earlier edition is available to be checked out of the library, on the shelves at QS 4 M822c 1999.

American College of Cardiology Guidelines

The American College of Cardiology has an extensive list of guidelines for treatment of cardiovascular disease, including pocket guides and pocket cards.

Selected topics:

ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: 2009 Focused Update of the ACC/AHA 2004 Guidelines and 2007 Focused Update for the Management of Patients With
Focused Update
Slide Set
Expert Interview Video

Unstable Angina/Non–ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: ACC/AHA 2007 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With
Full Text (J Am Coll Cardiol 2007;50:e1–157)
Executive Summary (J Am Coll Cardiol 2007;50:652–726)
Pocket Guideline
Pocket Guide Pull-Out Card

Valvular Heart Disease: Focused Update on Infective Endocarditis, ACC/AHA 2008 Guideline Update on
Focused Update

Valvular Heart Disease: 2008 Focused Update Incorporated Into the ACC/AHA 2006 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With (J Am Coll Cardiol;52:e1–e142)
Guideline

Ventricular Arrhythmias and Sudden Cardiac Death: ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 Guidelines for Management of Patients With Ventricular Arrhythmias and the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death (J Am Coll Cardiol 2006;48:1064-1108)
Guideline
Executive Summary
Pocket Guide
Press Release
Slide Set (Large file size, may take several minutes to download)

Featured Library Book: Clinical Electrocardiography, A Simplified Approach

Clinical Electrocardiography: A Simplified Approach, 7th Edition goes beyond the simple waveform analysis to present ECGs as they are used in hospital wards, outpatient clinics, emergency departments, and intensive care units where the recognition of normal and abnormal patterns is only the starting point in patient care.

Look for this book on the shelves at WG 140.G616c 2006.

Featured Library Book: Chronic Pain: A Primary Care Guide to Practical Management

Chronic Pain: A Primary Care Guide to Practical Management by Dawn A. Marcus(2005). Leading pain specialist Dawn A. Marcus, MD, offers primary care clinicians practical, clear, and succinct evidence-based approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of the painful conditions they see in their offices every day.

The author simplifies the often complex care of patients with chronic pain by providing practical strategies for targeting important symptoms, establishing realistic treatment goals, and managing patients with instructional sheets that can be copied directly from the book and used for both education and the monitoring of therapeutic compliance and response.

Numerous case-oriented practical applications illustrate the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with chronic pain in the context of a busy office practice. Important sections on opioid therapy and special patient groups are also included. Supplementary features include a value-added compact disk containing an ebook version of the book or use in the reader's computer or PDA.

Look for this book on the shelves at WL 704. M332c 2005.

Featured Library Book: Handbook of Dialysis

The Handbook of Dialysis by John T. Daugirdas(2007). The revised, updated Fourth Edition of this popular handbook provides practical, accessible information on all aspects of dialysis, with emphasis on day-to-day management of patients.

Chapters provide complete coverage of hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, special problems in dialysis patients, and problems pertaining to various organ systems. This edition reflects the latest guidelines of the National Kidney Foundation's Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI) on hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis adequacy and on nutrition.

New chapters cover chronic kidney disease management in predialysis patients, frequent daily or nocturnal hemodialysis, and hemodiafiltration. Chapters on venous and arteriovenous access have been completely revised. Each chapter provides references to relevant Web sites.

Look for it on the shelves at WJ 39 H2355.

OsteoEd: Resources on Osteoporosis from the Uof WA School of Medicine

OsteoEd
OsteoEd, is an educational website from the University of Washington School of Medicine. The site provides evidence-based information for students, residents, and primary care providers on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis.

OsteoEd Prediction Calculators

Practice Cases

• Screening & Evaluation
• Prevention
• Drug Therapy
• Secondary Osteoporosis
• Male Osteoporosis

Common Questions

Practice DXA's

BiliTool: Assessing risk of Hyperbilirubinemia

BiliTool

BiliTool is designed to help clinicians assess the risks toward the development of hyperbilirubinemia or "jaundice" in newborns. Read reviews here:

• Clinical Decision Support Systems in Pediatrics (PDF)
• Review by LifeDriveDoc.com (18 April 2008)

Required values include the age of the child in hours (between 18-168 hours) and the total bilirubin in either US (mg/dl) or SI (µmol/L) units.

Two entry options are available.

BiliTool is now available as a web application on the Apple iPhone or iPod Touch. No special download is required. Just point your iPhone or iPod Touch browser to bilitool.org.

Patient Education Handouts from MedlinePlus

MedlinePlus is a resource for educating patients. MedlinePlus brings together authoritative information from NLM, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations. MedlinePlus also has extensive information about drugs, an illustrated medical encyclopedia, interactive patient tutorials, and latest health news.

Many resources are available in Spanish--just click the "Espagnol" button on the right. Some health topics have options for low vision, or easy to read versions.


Start here with 800 topics on conditions, diseases and wellness


About your prescription and over-the-counter medicines, herbs and supplements


Includes pictures and diagrams


Spellings and definitions of medical words

Skin Therapy Letter Family Practice Edition

Skin Therapy Letter

STL US Family Practice Edition (Free)

The Family Practice Edition is available for free, and covers topics such as psoriasis, acne, skin cancer and eczema.

The Skin Therapy Letter© is a wholly owned subsidiary of SkinCareGuide.com. It was founded in 1995 by Dr. Stuart Maddin, Professor Emeritus of the Division of Dermatology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, who remains its Editor-In-Chief.

Featured Library Book: Henry's Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods

Henry's Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods (McPherson, 2007) is available in the quick reference section of the library by the animal crackers. An earlier edition is available for check-out, at call # QY 4 C6405 2001.

Required reading in clinical pathology since 1908! Comprehensive coverage gives you an in-depth understanding of lab test selection and interpretation of results. A new full-color layout makes reference much easier. What's more, new chapters on laboratory regulations, nutrition, point-of-care testing, bioterrorism, proteomics, microarray analysis, and the human genome project as well as a completely new section on cancer testing and meticulous updates from cover to cover put all the latest, most essential knowledge at your fingertips.

Other Featured Books:
Cecil Textbook of Medicine
A Practical Guide to Palliative Care
Medical Management of Vulnerable and Underserved Patients
Difficult Conversations in Medicine

Exercise is Medicine Guide for Physicians

Exercise is Medicine™ Health Care Providers' Action Guide High Resolution (for printing) Low Resolution (for online viewing and e-mailing) . Action Guide Supplemental Materials Starting an Exercise Program Patient Handout Your Prescription for Health flier series (Information and recommendations for exercising safely with a variety of health conditions) Physician Office Flier (low resolution: for e-mailing and online viewing) Physician Office Flier (high resolution: for printing) Appendix A: Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire Appendix B: Exercise Prescription and Referral Form Appendix C: Physical Activity Clearance Form

OTIS: Hotline for Information about Drugs and Exposures in Pregnancy

OTIS: Organization of Teratology Information Specialists

OTIS, the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists, is a non-profit organization made up of individual services (TIS) throughout North America. They are dedicated to providing accurate evidence-based, clinical information to patients and health care professionals about exposures during pregnancy and lactation. Resources also available in Spanish.

National Referral Number 1-866-626-6847

Fact Sheets

Emergency Medicine Diagnosis at a Glance

Emergency Medicine journal has Diagnosis at a Glance, case photos submitted by physicians. Test your diagnostic abilities.

First Watch: Journal Updates

JournalWatch: Physician's First Watch

A free daily alert on current news that affects your practice — from medical journals, government agencies, scientific conferences, and major media reports.

Physician’s First Watch is your FREE daily dose of the handful of medical news stories and announcements you need to know about — delivered to your inbox each weekday morning.

First Watch is part of a website from the publishers of the New England Journal of Medicine.

List of Journals Watched

Rheumatology Image Bank

The American College of Rheumatology has created an online collection of rheumatology-related images. Serving as a centralized resource for clinicians, researchers and health care professionals, the Rheumatology Image Bank provides assistance in self-study. Excel your knowledge by exploring more than 1,500 images of rheumatic diseases ranging from common conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and gout to rare conditions including multicentric reticulohistiocytosis, relapsing polychondritis and the various heritable disorders of the connective tissue.

PsychSolve: New Harbinger Press Mental Health Problem Solver

PsychSolve is published by New Harbinger Press and is written by Jeffrey C. Wood, Psy.D.,a licensed psychologist and author of Getting Help.
Info is aimed at patients, with brief entries about diagnosis, cause, and treatment on topics such as:

1. Common problems such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, phobias, trauma, drug and alcohol problems, low self-esteem, and stress
2. Relationship problems
3. Eating disorders
4. Chronic pain issues

Acid-Base Tutorial

Dr. Grogono has created an Acid-Base Tutorial with terminology, history, physiology, and diagrams. Peer-reviewed by MedEd Portal of AAMC.

Getting Started

Physiology and history are both good places to start for most people.
Alternatively, use the Index to select the topic that interests you most.

The Auscultation Assistant: Hear Heart and Breath Sounds

The Auscultation Assistant was created by Chris Cable, in his fourth year of medical school at UCLA primarily for second-year medical students to help them appreciate the different audio characteristics of heart murmurs and breath sounds. Click on the above tabs to cross between general categories, and use the text buttons to the left to reach individual topics within each area. Enjoy!

Resources for Counseling Patients

Demystifying CBT: Effective, easy-to-use treatment for depression and anxiety Provide empiric tools to help patients explore the validity of their thoughts and the impact of their behaviors with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Article from the Journal of Family Practice.

Patient Stages of Change in quitting smoking

Motivational Interviewing to helps patients in the examination and resolution of ambivalence about making health behavior changes

Principles
"Traps"
Interaction Techniques
Strategies

Family Practice Management Toolbox

The Journal of Family Practice Management, published by AAFP, has a Family Practice Management Toolbox. The FPM Toolbox offers more than 150 practice management tools that you can download for free.

A sampling of topics:

• Care Management
• Career Management
• Coding: CPT
• Coding: ICD-9
• Disease Management: Asthma
• Disease Management: Diabetes
• Financial Management
• Flow Sheets
• Group Visits
• HIPAA
• Inpatient Care
• Life Balance
• Managed Care
• Medicare
• Office Policy Samples
• Patient Handouts
• Patient Surveys/Questionnaires
• Practice Improvement
• Productivity
• Referral Management
• Risk Calculators

ICSI: Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement

If you are looking for a guideline for treatment, ICSI is notable for their generous use of evaluation and treatment algorithms, flow charts and indication of levels of evidence.

The Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement is a collaborative of insurance companies and hospitals which produces guidelines for patient care. Clinicians from member organizations survey scientific literature and draft health care recommendations based on the best available evidence. These documents are subjected to an intensive review process that involves physicians and other health care professionals from ICSI member organizations before they are made available for general use.

• Behavioral Health Guidelines
  Guidelines, order sets and protocols related to emotional, mental, or behavioral health conditions.
• Cardiovascular Guidelines
  Guidelines, order sets and protocols related to heart disease, hypertension, and other causes of cardiovascular disease.
• Musculo-Skeletal Disorders Guidelines
  Guidelines, order sets and protocols related to muscular or skeletal conditions.
• Patient Safety & Reliability Guidelines
  Guidelines, order sets, and protocols related to a variety of patient safety issues in the inpatient and outpatient care setting.

• Preventive & Health Maintenance Guidelines
  Guidelines, order sets and protocols related to maintaining good health, immunizations, or preventing illness or disease development.
• Respiratory Disease Guidelines
  Guidelines, order sets and protocols related to respiratory illness or lung disease.
• Women's Health Guidelines
  Guidelines, order sets and protocols related to obstetric and gynecologic health conditions.
• Other Health Care Conditions Guidelines
  Guidelines, order sets and protocols related to a variety of health care conditions not included in specific categories.

Suicide Prevention Resources for Primary Care

The Suicide Prevention Resource Center has a listing of resources for Primary Care Physicians.

• The Role of Primary Care Physicians in Preventing Suicide
• Recognizing the Warning Signs
• Responding to the Warning Signs
• Helping Yourself and Your Colleagues
• References
• Resources
  • Resources for Primary Care Physicians
  • General Resources on Suicide and Suicide Prevention

Online Guide to $4.00 Prescriptions

There are several sources of information on low cost generic drugs, and patient assistance for getting prescriptions they can't afford.


Wal*Mart's $4 prescription plan hundreds of generic prescription drugs and more than 1,000 over-the-counter medications at $4 per 30-day supply, plus $10 for a 90-day supply of selected drugs.
Target's $4 prescription plan save on over 300 generic prescription drugs at $4 per 30-day supply.
RxAssist streamlines the application process for the pharmaceutical industry's patient assistance programs.
Needy Meds is a non-profit organization with a big collection of resources on patient assistance programs for prescriptions for specific diseases, and by region.


Related Post:
Tips on Prescribing for WalMart

ScienceRoll Medical Search Engine

ScienceRoll Medical Search Engine is a personalized site by Bertalan Meskó who, with the help of Polymeta.com has created a well structured medical search database.

Search multiple sites at once including PubMed, e-Medicine, ClinicalTrials, CDC, and MedScape, and easily choose only the sites you want to search.

National Guideline Clearinghouse: If you want guidelines, they probably have it!

National Guideline Clearinghouse

The National Guideline Clearinghouse™ (NGC) is a comprehensive database of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and related documents. NGC is an initiative of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The NGC mission is to provide physicians, nurses, and other health professionals, health care providers, health plans, integrated delivery systems, purchasers and others an accessible mechanism for obtaining objective, detailed information on clinical practice guidelines and to further their dissemination, implementation and use.

Browse

» Disease / Condition

» Treatment / Intervention

» Measures

» Organization

» Guideline Index

» Guidelines In Progress

» Guideline Archive

MedicalSpanish.com

MedicalSpanish.com provides both courses for purchase and free resources.

Free Learning Resources

• Medical Vocabulary
• Medical Spanish Dialogs
• Anatomical Illustrations
• Cultural Topics
• Learning Tips
• Spanish Overview
• Basic Vocabulary
• Free Email Lessons
• Patient Teaching Aids
• Daily Word
• Medical Dictionary

Courses for Purchase(currently 25% off)

• Hospital Nurses »
• NPs, Physicians & PAs »
• Office Nurses »
• Emergency Responders »
• Medical Assistants »
• Physical Therapists »
• Medical Receptionists »
• Occupational Therapists »

pogoe: Portal of Geriatric Online Education

The Portal of Geriatric Online Education (POGOe) is a free public repository of a growing collection of geriatric educational materials in various e-learning formats, including lectures, exercises, virtual patients, case-based discussions, simulations, as well as links to other resources.

Funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, POGOe is managed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Geriatrics and Adult Development, on behalf of the Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs (ADGAP). The site is a partnership between Mount Sinai and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Departments of Biomedical Informatics and Division of Geriatrics.

Library of Resources

• Exercises
• Faculty Development
• Lab Guides
• Learner Assessments
• Lecture - Presentations
• PBL Materials
• Quick Reference
• Simulations
• Standardized Patient Cases
• Tutorials
• Videos
• Virtual Patients
• Other

End of Life/Palliative Care Fast Facts from EPERC

EPERC: End of Life/Palliative Education Resource Center offers Fast Facts and Concepts, concise, practical, peer-reviewed, and evidence-based summaries on key topics important to clinicians and trainees caring for patients facing life-limiting illnesses.

Fast Facts are designed to be easily accessible and clinically relevant monographs on palliative care topics. They are intended to be quick teaching tools for bedside rounds, as well as self-study material for health care professional trainees and clinicians who work with patients with life-limiting illnesses.

What's New

# 229 Seizure Management in the Dying Patient

This Fast Fact reviews management strategies for seizures near the end of life.

# 228 Tapentadol

Tapentadol is a novel analgesic, with a 50 mg dose similar in efficacy to 10 mg of oxycodone.

# 227 The Family Meeting: End of Life Goal Setting and Future Planning

This Fast Fact discusses an approach to goal setting when the expected length of life is short.

# 226 Helping Surrogates Make Decisions

This Fast Fact reviews an approach to help surrogates through the decision process when patients cannot participate in decision-making themselves.

More Fast Facts

Fast Facts Blog

Antibiotic Guide From Johns Hopkins: ABX Guide

Johns Hopkins Antibiotic Guide

Launched in 2000, the ABX Guide is a state-of-the-art resource for diagnosing, managing and treating infectious diseases. It has become a popular infectious disease resource in the field with more than 350,000 registered users--half of whom download the application to their PDA devices.

Download the ABX Guide to your handheld device

• ABX Guide is available for download through SKYSCAPE
• All handheld, mobile devices are supported including Palm, PocketPC, BlackBerry^® and iPhone.
• 24x7 technical support from Skyscape.
• Mac and PC compatible.
• New "Table Viewer" allows users to easily and conveniently scroll through tables on their mobile devices.

New Clinical Practice Guidelines for Clostridium difficile Infection in Adults

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America is offering access to the new
Clinical Practice Guidelines for Clostridium difficile Infection in Adults
SHEA/IDSA
ICHE May 2010

This guideline is designed to improve the diagnosis and management of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in adult patients. A case of CDI is defined by the presence of symptoms (usually diarrhea) and either a stool test positive for C. difficile toxins or toxigenic C. difficile, or colonoscopic or histopathologic findings revealing pseudomembranous colitis. In addition to diagnosis and management, recommended methods of infection control and environmental management of the pathogen are presented. The recommendations are based on the best available evidence and practices, as determined by a joint Expert Panel appointed by SHEA and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) (the SHEA‐IDSA Expert Panel). The use of these guidelines can be impacted by the size of the institution and the resources, both financial and laboratory, available in the particular clinical setting.

National Institute on Drug Abuse Resources for Clinicians

NIDA: National Insitute on Drug Abuse, has resources for Medical Clinicians including:

• NIDA-Modified Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (NMASSIST)
  • Online Screening tool
  • NIDA recommends reading the additional resources before using the screening tool.
  NIDAMED Videos
• The importance of building trust between the drug user and doctor.

• Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide - Second Edition
• Chart of Commonly Abused Drugs
• Chart of Potentially Abused Prescription Drugs
• Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse
• Drugs, Brains, and Behavior - The Science of Addiction
• InfoFacts Fact Sheet:Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction In English and Spanish
• Teaching Packets

Related Post:
Street Names of Commonly Abused Drugs
Vintage 1970's Chart of Common Drugs and Narcotics

STD Treatment Resources from the CDC

April is STD Awareness Month.



The CDC has a resource page on Sexually Transmitted Diseases with resources such as:

Treatment Guidelines
Fact Sheets
STD Clinical Slides
Training
Publications

Also includes Treatment Updates such as this one:
Update March 4, 2010
The FDA has indicated that the erythromycin ophthalmic ointment shortage has been resolved. Erythromycin ophthalmic ointment (0.5%) is the only CDC recommended therapy for prophylaxis of ophthalmia neonatorum available in the United States. The alternative recommended therapies suggested during the shortage should no longer be used. Providers are strongly encouraged to locate and obtain erythromycin ophthalmic ointment. For current information regarding the availability of this product, see the FDA website at http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/DrugShortages/ucm050793.htm.

Related Post:
Just Ask! Communicating with Patients about STD's

Merck Medicus: Free Access to Merck Manual and More

The Merck Manual Professional Edition is a manual of diagnosis and treatment. Merck provides the content of these Merck Manuals on the web for free (visit www.merckmanuals.com). Registration is not required, and use is unlimited. The web publications are continuously updated to ensure that the information is as up-to-date as possible.

In 1899, the American drug manufacturer Merck & Co. first published a small book titled Merck's Manual of the Materia Medica. It was meant as an aid to physicians and pharmacists, reminding doctors that “Memory is treacherous.” Compact in size, easy to use, and comprehensive, The Merck Manual (as it was later known) became a favorite of those involved in medical care and others in need of a medical reference. Even Albert Schweitzer carried a copy to Africa in 1913, and Admiral Byrd carried a copy to the South Pole in 1929.

Merck offers Merck Medicus, to qualified health professionals in the United States with registration. Additional resources include Harrison's, access to PDA applications, and full text journals.

NOTE: By providing your information and clicking on the Register button, you agree that Merck, the companies with whom Merck collaborates to jointly offer products and services, and the companies working on their behalf may contact you via email regarding product information, site enhancements, special offers, educational opportunities, additional resources, programs and information about Merck.

For purposes of this consent, you can manage your contact preferences, including a request not to be contacted by e-mail, by clicking Edit My Info from the MerckMedicus home page upon sign in.

Clinical Cases Online

Clinical Cases and Images is a useful resource that brings together various pearls of medical wisdom and aims to bridge the gap between clinical theory and practice.

Learn by reading case studies, such as this one about an 84 year old woman admitted for COPD exacerbation: http://clinicalcases.blogspot.com/2004/02/copd-vs-chf-exacerbation.html

And these cases are in test format:
Anemia with hemoglobin 4.2 mg/dL. What is the cause?

Shortness of breath and diffuse ground glass pattern on CT of the chest. What is the cause?

Abdominal pain in a 93-year-old male. What is the cause?

Elderly female with CHF complains of abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, and confusion for 5 days. What is the cause?

Most of the contributors to the web site are physicians at Cleveland Clinic or Case Western Reserve University (St. Vincent/St. Luke) Internal Medicine Residency Program (the blog web site is maintained by Dr. Dimov alone).

Related Posts on Pearls:

Current Psychiatry Online Pearls
PURL's from Journal of Family Practice
Tips on Prescribing for Walmart
Neurology E-Pearls of the Week
CT is Us: Radiology Pearls

Finding Free Articles in PubMed

PubMed does have some free full text articles, and the following screens show the places to look to see if an article is free:

In PubMed results, in the default Summary display format, the "Free article" link under a citation indicates that free full text of the article is available (Figure 1).

The "Free article" link opens the citation in Abstract display where users can choose icon links to the full text (Figure 2).


Additional access to other free full text articles (if available) also appears on the search results screen (Figure 3). The "Free Full Text" filter in the upper right narrows the search results to only citations with free full text. Also, free full text articles in PubMed Central are indicated.
TIP: Sometimes articles are no longer on the publisher's website but will still be in PubMed Central.


Information from NLM's FAQ.