How >100,000 CFU became synonymous with UTI

For decades, undiagnosed pyelonephritis caused chronic kidney disease and death. Quantitative urine culture emerged as a tool to prevent these bad…

Jun 28 • 

Tony Breu

6

DVT Prophylaxis in Hospitalized Medical Patients - Questioning the Evidence

Early in my training I was taught that DVT prophylaxis was a crucial "bottom of the list" item. In the ensuing years, has my diligent adherence to this…

Jun 21 • 

Tony Breu

9

3

April 2024

Calcium versus Sodium Chloride

Although calcium has become the key drug used to "stabilize the cardiac membrane" in hyperkalemia, turns out another drug may be just as good.

Apr 16, 2024 • 

Tony Breu

4

β-blockers in heart failure. From No! to Maybe? to Yes!

For decades, the use of β-blockers in heart failure was contraindicated. Then, Finn Waagstein made a bold move, successfully treating a single patient…

Apr 12, 2024 • 

Tony Breu

5

February 2024

[Behavioral] Alert!

Sometimes practice changes permanently based on single studies of few participants. The use of behavioral alerts provides an example.

Feb 9, 2024 • 

Tony Breu

2

2

Bacillis...Clostridium...Clostridioides

Nearly 100 years ago, a new bacteria was named for its fastidious nature. Although the genus has undergone iterative modification, the species remains a…

Feb 6, 2024 • 

Tony Breu

5

January 2024

The Guinea Pig Test

Although the origin of "human guinea pig" isn't clear, the long use of the guinea pig test as a diagnostic tool in suspected tuberculosis remains a…

Jan 26, 2024 • 

Tony Breu

3

December 2023

How "≥250 PMNs = SBP" came to be

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is an example of how a number defines a condition.

Dec 5, 2023 • 

Tony Breu

7

November 2023

The ever decreasing hemoglobin transfusion threshold.

From normal to 10 to 9 to 8 to 7 to...

Nov 29, 2023 • 

Tony Breu

6

Blood banks. Do you have good credit?

The origins of the term "blood bank" provides insights into the earliest methods of blood acquisition and allocation in the hospital.

Nov 25, 2023 • 

Tony Breu

3

The Unbridled Enthusiasm for QOD Oral Iron

A demonstration of "The Curbsiders Effect"?

Nov 22, 2023 • 

Tony Breu

7

4