Category Archives: Uncategorized

Why can cefepime cause neurotoxicity? Cefepime neurotoxicity is an under-recognized clinical entity and the potential for its presence can confound the assessment of encephalopathic patients. But at the same time, it’s a very effective broad-spectrum antibiotic (i.e., it treats both gram-positive and gram-negative organisms) that clinicians should not fear to use. As background, cefepime isContinue reading “Episode 50 – Antibiotics on the brain”

Why does OSA cause nocturia? On this episode of the podcast, we discussed why and how obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can cause nocturnal urination. And it’s a common association with one study of 138 patients with OSA reported that 48% experienced nocturia. To begin, OSA is a sleep disorder characterized by episodes of partial orContinue reading “Episode 49 – Curious Incidents in the Nighttime”

Why do we use urinary antigen tests for respiratory pathogens? For many pulmonary infections, we look at the urine to make a diagnosis. This is true for bacterial causes like strep pneumonia and legionella, and also for some fungal infections like Histoplasma. To some extent, this may make sense. Many of us learn early inContinue reading “Episode 48 – Urine the Lung”

Why does cutting onions make you cry? If you’ve spent any time in a kitchen, preparing a meal, you’ve likely had to cut an onion. And, if you’ve cut an onion, you’ve almost surely experienced the curious ability of this food to induce tears. Your experience is neither unique nor new. Onions are one ofContinue reading “Episode 47 – Something to Cry About”

In this episode, we tell the incredible tale of Dr. Scott Smith, an anesthesiologist who in 1946 purposefully paralyzed himself in a controlled setting. This experiment endeavored to answer a scientific question about which there was some equipoise at the time: do neuromuscular paralytics sedate and paralyze patients, or do they simply paralyze? Of course,Continue reading “Episode 46 – The Man Who Purposefully Paralyzed Himself”