By: Nick Tod Health care providers, politicians, and community members at large all agree action needs to be taken to address the opioid crisis. While the conversation around how to handle this crisis is a step towards making progress in our communities, much more is needed to experience meaningful results. Before we can truly address…

By: Siva Sundaram Imagine you’re a primary care doctor seeing a patient one week after his first heart attack. You know the latest evidence, so you tell your patient about a cheap, safe medication that cuts his risk of dying from a second heart attack in half.   But there’s a catch: You were never trained…

Figure 1 Quiz of the Week A 58-year-old woman presents two days after a cardiac catheterization with malaise, fatigue, and new violaceous livedoid lesions on her feet. She is also found to have mild acute renal dysfunction.   Image credit: @hfehmi.   Answer: Cholesterol embolization syndrome When small particles of atheroma embolize during a vascular…

Figure 1 Quiz of the Week A 70-year-old male with a history of hypertension presents with a fever and severe pain in both his hands. Examination reveals swollen, erythematous, and tender nodules on the joints of his fingers. Arthrocentesis demonstrates negatively birefringent urate crystals in the synovial fluid.    Image credit: @drugpiter, @twcc.   Answer: Precocious…

With 30 test dates to choose from (in 2018), it can be easy to put the decision of when to take the MCAT on the back-burner. But in reality, choosing when to take the MCAT is a very important choice. Think about it like this: lots of longer-term decisions—like when to schedule your test prep—depend…

Figure 1 Quiz of the Week A 45-year-old female presents with painful lesions on her lower limbs and ears. She is a smoker, and has a history of recreational drug use. Purpuric, necrotic lesions are noted on both lower extremities, in addition to tender purpura on both ears. A biopsy is performed which demonstrates leukocytoclastic…