Clinical Inquiries
Clinical Inquiries
What is the best imaging method for patients with a presumed acute stroke?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: It depends on whether the stroke is schemic or hemorrhagic. For early detection of ischemic stroke, magnetic resonance...
Clinical Inquiries
Whom should you test for secondary causes of hypertension?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: IT'S RECOMMENDED that all children and adolescents with a new diagnosis of hypertension undergo renal ultrasound and...
Clinical Inquiries
Does ultrasound guidance improve outcomes for steroid joint injections?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Patients yes, at least in the short term. Ultrasound-guided (USG) injections of triamcinolone into the shoulder improve...
Clinical Inquiries
What is the best age to start vitamin D supplementation to prevent rickets in breastfed newborns?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: It’s unclear what age is best to start vitamin D supplementation because no comparison studies exist. That said, breastfed...
Clinical Inquiries
What clinical clues differentiate migraine from sinus headaches?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Patients with sinus headaches have thick nasal discharge, fever, chills, sweats, or abnormally malodorous breath (SOR: B,...
Clinical Inquiries
Do oral contraceptives carry a significant risk of stroke for women with migraines?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Perhaps. Estrogen-containing oral contraceptives may raise the risk of ischemic stroke in women with migraine, particularly...
Clinical Inquiries
How do antidepressants affect sexual function?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Patients treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and the serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (...
Clinical Inquiries
Elevated troponin but no CVD: What’s the prognosis?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Patients with elevated troponin levels and chronic renal disease, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary embolism, chronic...
Clinical Inquiries
Do dietary choices alone alter the risk of developing metabolic syndrome?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: YES, but not in the short term. In studies of patient populations controlled for differences in dietary content alone,...
Clinical Inquiries
Do asymptomatic adults need screening EKGs?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: PROBABLY NOT. Although certain electrocardiogram (EKG) findings in asymptomatic adults are associated with increased...
Clinical Inquiries
Does metformin prevent diabetes in at-risk adults?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Yes. Metformin therapy reduces the risk of developing diabetes for adults with one or more risk factors for at least 5...