Hospital and Internal Medicine Podcast

Fecalomas—rock‑hard impacted stool that cause obstruction, stercoral colitis, perforation, and even death—most often in immobile elderly patients or those on opioids. Standard treatments include aggressive bowel regimens, enemas, manual disimpaction, endoscopic fragmentation, and surgery. There are also case reports of using Coca‑Cola enemas to soften and reduce fecalomas when conventional measures failed.

Transcribed - Published: 25 May 2026

This episode examines the concerns about mouthwash and oral cancer. While ethanol can form the carcinogen acetaldehyde, how worried should we be? Strong antiseptic rinses can alter the oral microbiome and may reduce bacteria that help produce nitric oxide, with a small study showing a blunted post-exercise blood pressure drop; does that justify abandoning exercise or ignoring dental guidance?

Transcribed - Published: 14 May 2026

Multiple studies in multiple journals are going against the norms and previous guidelines. The times they are a changing.

Transcribed - Published: 20 April 2026

For acute treatment of Venous Thromboembolism the debate of which direct oral anticoagulant to use appears to now be settled.

Transcribed - Published: 12 April 2026

The double-blind, randomized phase III EMPEROR-Preserved trial showed a benefit of the sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor empagliflozin in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Now let us dig a bit more into those headlines.

Transcribed - Published: 27 January 2022

An important recently published randomized control trial provides guidance on this controversy.

Transcribed - Published: 18 October 2021

Transcribed - Published: 27 June 2021

Transcribed - Published: 15 June 2021

Almost nobody feels comfortable managing DELAYED gastric emptying (gastroparesis) and very few medical providers even think about RAPID gastric emptying in their diabetic patients. Even if you send these patients to GI specialists, your blood sugar co-management of these patients can be heavily impacted by these issues. Is delayed gastric emptying always a bad thing? When your patient has upper GI symptoms, how often is it a gastric emptying abnormality? Time for some answers.

Transcribed - Published: 9 May 2021

Can we trust a nuclear study to nail the diagnosis? Are motor abnormalities really the cause of symptoms? What is a POP procedure?

Transcribed - Published: 8 May 2021

Does regular, low-dose, oral sustained-release morphine improve disease-specific health status or cause respiratory adverse effects in patients with moderate to very severe chronic breathlessness due to advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease? Digging in on the latest study.

Transcribed - Published: 9 April 2021

My take on what went down at the Journal of the American Medical Association. I disagree with the comment there isn't "structural racism in health care", but was the backlash against the Editor who didn't say it (and actually opposed the comment) an over-reaction? Can we have discussions about the controversial issues that affect healthcare (like gun violence or abortion) without cancel culture cancelling the people who want to have nuanced discussions? I fear we lost the ability to have dialogue in a field where every MD/DO/PA/NP by definition has an advanced degree - and therefore we should be able to dispute misinformed statements to bring about change without the outrage going so far as to fire a person who actually objected to the hurtful statement.

Transcribed - Published: 5 April 2021

Transcribed - Published: 6 March 2021

Transcribed - Published: 19 February 2021

This lecture provides a basic understanding of how epigenetic changes influence infections/sepsis, vaccinations, cancer, future generations, your muscles, and (of course) those sweet tan-lines you are rocking. Every day you are living through epigenetic changes that have huge implications on your health and who you are.

Transcribed - Published: 4 February 2021

Hyponatremia remains a challenging topic for many because they are trying to memorize algorithms and numbers. You can usually nail the etiology by history & physical and a brief chart review.

Transcribed - Published: 23 December 2020

If you use the term 'cytokine storm' and don't really know what you mean by it, you are far from unique. Let me help to try and clarify it for you just a bit.

Transcribed - Published: 2 December 2020

Do you know what CRP is (other than saying it is an inflammatory marker)? Should we always shut down cytokines? If so, how? Why should we avoid giving a glucocorticoid to a COVID patient before they develop an elevated CRP or hypoxia? So many questions! A few answers are provided.

Transcribed - Published: 2 December 2020

Hint: That person died in 2017

Transcribed - Published: 28 November 2020

Transcribed - Published: 13 August 2020

Transcribed - Published: 28 April 2020

Multiple treatment issues are discussed. This includes theoretical ideal blood pressure lowering rates, oral options (for hypertensive urgency and specific populations), intravenous options (for hypertensive emergency or NPO patients), specific issues with aortic dissection, coronary syndromes, acute pulmonary edema & heart failure, labetalol, esmolol, nitroglycerin, and nitroprusside.

Transcribed - Published: 28 April 2020

Did you know that intravenous labetalol and oral labetalol are not really similar? The great hydralazine debate. Things you must know about Clevidipine if you are going to use it.

Transcribed - Published: 27 April 2020

Did you know systolic and diastolic blood pressure are NOT measured by automated BP cuffs? PRES (Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome), also known as RPLS (Reversible Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome), is something you should recognize when you see it. Brief mentions of esmolol, nitroprusside, and other topics are scattered somewhere in between musings.

Transcribed - Published: 25 April 2020

If you wonder why good food is more important than mortality and why ordering too many unnecessary consults worsens the food and doesn't impact mortality - this episode is for you. Tramadol is not well understood by many prescribers and there are some emerging facts we all need to know. A flashback to diuretic use in congestive heart failure with fluid overload and elevated creatinine is also discussed somewhere in the mix. Ohhh...and stop systematically prescribing nicotine replacement at high dosages for all hospitalized smokers. Stevens JP, Hatfield LA, Nyweide DJ, Landon B. Association of Variation in Consultant Use Among Hospitalist Physicians With Outcomes Among Medicare Beneficiaries. JAMA February 21, 2020 “Twenty Common Mistakes Made in Daily Clinical Practice” American Journal of Medicine 2020:133(01):1-3 Cristobal Young, Xinxiang Chen, Patients as Consumers in the Market for Medicine: The Halo Effect of Hospitality, Social Forces Tramadol is an odd, unpredictable opioid, scientists say - By The Associated Press - December 13, 2019

Transcribed - Published: 23 April 2020

World War I was partly triggered by powerful allies of various nationalities being dragged into a Balkan conflict (nationalism, of course, was another major factor). The more recent Balkan conflict is even more preposterous - and here is my attempt to humorously explain the unexplainable.

Transcribed - Published: 23 April 2020

Correcting Hypernatremia in adults (finally, a real study!). An option for that scary patient with hemoptysis. How many nephrons you have (and your patient has) - it matters.

Transcribed - Published: 10 December 2019

Anemia of Inflammation is also often referred to as Anemia of Chronic Disease. It is one of the most common anemias, yet often challenging to comprehend. This is an attempt is to try and simplify it.

Transcribed - Published: 30 September 2019

If you know why red blood cells survive less (and are made less) during inflammatory conditions, and already know why ferritin increases in inflammation, and don't want to hear a lousy Iron Man plot idea - then you are good to go on skipping this episode.

Transcribed - Published: 30 September 2019

Transcribed - Published: 30 September 2019

It occurs naturally in the body (because we synthesize it), it is in meat, and it is frequently used as a supplement. Since it is in you, why not understand what it is and what it does? Advice is provided on which supplement labels to particularly avoid. A brief reflection upon creatine within our brains (and the potential memory impact seen in one study) is utilized to make the point that when it comes to a performance enhancer, like creatine, it's not solely about the ramifications on muscle strength and endurance.

Transcribed - Published: 20 August 2019

The replenishing of muscle ATP is one (of the several) mechanisms that creatine helps with when it comes to heavy anaerobic exercise. Other topics discussed are things to know about lab testing the kidneys while taking creatine. Thoughts on why some don't respond to creatine supplementation.

Transcribed - Published: 6 August 2019

Is there a specific type of creatine to buy? What is creatine monohydrate? What is Creapure? What do some professional organizations have to say about the safety of creatine? The loading dose debate. Also dives into the several mechanisms of action for how creatine helps build muscle.

Transcribed - Published: 5 August 2019

Are you surprised that GoFundMe and crowdfunding are not the solution to a family healthcare crisis? How about Medicare for All? Hmmmm.....

Transcribed - Published: 1 July 2019

Transcribed - Published: 8 April 2019

A deceivingly difficult topic. Not so obvious points are made about asymptomatic carriers, transmission, and who to test.

Transcribed - Published: 25 January 2019

Specific initial treatment regimens are discussed. Topics include fulminant disease, Vancomycin, Fidaxomicin, Metronidazole, and recurrence rates/regimens.

Transcribed - Published: 23 January 2019

Many of the latest studies in the 2017-2018 timeframe are reviewed. The importance of looking at the eosinophil count on the CBC, probiotic future directions, microbiome transplant options, antibody treatment (bezlotoxumab), "penicillin allergic" patients, and a brief mention of available testing.

Transcribed - Published: 23 January 2019

Experiences that taught me some lessons.

Transcribed - Published: 24 December 2018

Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 (GLP-1) mimetics are also referred to as the GLP-1 receptor agonists. While this talk mostly focuses on GLP-1 mechanisms and actions, the hope is you will also better understand The Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors  The current GLP-1 Agonists include Exenatide (Byetta), Liraglutide (Victoza), Dulaglutide (Trulicity), Abiglutide (Tanzeum), Lixisenatide (Adlyxin), Semaglutide (Ozempic). The current DPP-4 Inhibitors include Alogliptin (Nesina), Linagliptin (Tradjenta), Saxagliptin (Onglyza), Sitagliptin (Januvia).

Transcribed - Published: 17 December 2018

Sodium-Glucose Transporter 2 Inhibitors decrease glucose re-absorbtion. The diuretic effect, weight loss, DKA, cardiac outcomes, blood pressure, genital infections and a whole bunch of other information is discussed. SGLT2s include Canagliflozin (Invokana), Dapagliflozin (Farxiga), Empagliflozin (Jardiance), Ertagliflozin (Steglatro), with more to be released in the future.

Transcribed - Published: 26 September 2018

There is a lot more to understanding HgA1C then most realize (particularly the quality industry and big corporations).

Transcribed - Published: 26 August 2018

Tackles - Vitamin B12, kidney disease, CHF, cancer, Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT), dosing, side-effects, lactic acidosis, cost, drinkers, hypoxic patients, glucose lowering, and a few other moments of erudation.

Transcribed - Published: 27 May 2018

If you want to understand drug classes like DPP-4 inhibitors, GLP-1 (GLUCAGON-like peptide) therapies, treating hypoglycemia, and an important player among the many etiologies of Type 2 diabetes - then you must understand the basics about glucoagon.

Transcribed - Published: 16 May 2018

Transcribed - Published: 1 May 2018

Transcribed - Published: 1 May 2018

Diuretic therapy for congestive heart failure treatment, antibiotics for diabetic osteomyelitis after foot surgery, and practical tips with new-onset seizures - is among the knowledge dropped (because, after all, school can't teach us everything).

Transcribed - Published: 3 April 2018

Some new stuff about Vitamin D & Calcium supplementation, another about the timing of hip fracture surgery, etc

Transcribed - Published: 1 February 2018

Transcribed - Published: 22 December 2017

Checking glucose levels in Type 2 Diabetes, ACE Inhibitors for women, and using Azithromycin in Asthma.

Transcribed - Published: 14 November 2017