Blood Cultures are Not Recommended for Most Non-Severe Cases of UTI, Cellulitis, or Pneumonia

Joseph Esherick, M.D., FAAFP, FHM
More Articles – Arterial line, Dermatology, Emergency Procedures, Infections, medical procedures, Nephrology, Respiratory diseases
More Tags – bacteremia, cellulitis, community-acquired pneumonia, HPC updates, pneumonia, UTI
In many hospitals, blood cultures have become a reflexive habit for patients presenting to the ER with any suspected infection.  This was, in part, due to the inappropriate addition of routine blood cultures as a core measure in 2001 by…
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Anticoagulation is Likely Beneficial for Portal Vein Thrombosis in Cirrhosis

Joseph Esherick, M.D., FAAFP, FHM
More Articles – Gastrointestinal diseases, Hematology, Medical General, medical procedures, Thoracentesis
More Tags – anticoagulation, cirrhosis, HPC updates, portal vein thrombosis
The optimal treatment of portal vein thrombosis in patients with cirrhosis has been a topic of debate for quite some time.  To this date there have been no large prospective, randomized controlled trials to help guide management in these patients. …
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Safe Ways to Rule Out Pulmonary Embolism without Using a CT Pulmonary Angiogram

Joseph Esherick, M.D., FAAFP, FHM
More Articles – Emergency Procedures, Hematology, medical procedures, Respiratory diseases
More Tags – D-dimer, deep venous thrombosis, HPC updates, pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is one of the most difficult to diagnose and potentially fatal disorders in medicine.  Because of this, CT pulmonary angiograms (CTPA) are over utilized so as to not miss this potentially fatal problem.  There are three ways…
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