A presentation on October 14, 2013, at the American College of Gastroenterology Scientific Session by Joseph A. Murray, MD, FACG  (Mayo Clinic)Murray JA. Implications of gluten intolerance and celiac disease in IBS.  

Chronic pain affects more Americans than diabetes mellitus, heart disease, and cancer combined. Here are some facts and figures about pain for you to consider.

What accounts for the 129% increase in admissions for constipation over the past decade-and what can be done to avoid these expensive and often unnecessary admissions? Primary care clinicians take note.

Nearly three-quarters of patients who are initially "statin-intolerant" are able to re-start therapy on a graduated-dosing schedule and continue on an intermittent dosing regimen.

An IDWeek 2013 poster presentation quantified clinician fatigue with the finding that Boston-area primary care physicians were more likely to prescribe antibiotics for ARIs at the end of the day than when they were fresh on the job in the morning.

How do you know you are in Survival Mode? You believe patients, your nurse, the lab reports, and phone calls are out to get you. You become cynical and sarcastic-especially under your breath.

Broad-spectrum antibiotics offer no advantage over guideline-recommended agents, even against severe community-acquired pneumonia.

How much do you know about cephalic tetanus? Perioperative hypotension? PCOS? Take this week’s test and see if you can answer these 5 questions.

Iron deficiency seen in restless leg syndrome is identified as an important secondary cause and supplementation helps relieve symptoms.

Restless leg syndrome is characterized by an urge to move the upper or lower extremities that is usually induced by rest.

RLS has several diagnostic features that distinguish it from other sleep-related disorders.

English- and Spanish-speaking parents cited widely differing reasons for avoiding vaccination for their eligible daughters or failing to ensure the 3 doses were received.

Vitamin D supplementation in the VitDISH study did not improve isolated systolic hypertension in elderly patients who were deficient.

In hospitalized HIV patients, medication errors are common and can be mitigated by enlisting ID specialists.

The norovirus vaccine, while not preventive of all disease, does significantly reduce the severity of symptoms.

The association of missed visits and increased mortality in HIV-infected patients is related to factors other than access to care.

Thirty-day hospital readmission rates in adults infected with HIV are driven largely by CD4+ count and length of stay.

Clostridium difficile colitis can be cured by having patients swallow capsules brimming with other people’s concentrated stool. Inexpensive, effective, and readily available. This could be an enormous opportunity for primary care (if the FDA approves it).

Primary care physicians can tell their sleep apnea patients that not only will they be healthier but they may well look more alert, more attractive, and more youthful.

This is an opportunity for primary care to help avert a public health catastrophe. Physicians need to take ownership over this issue and demand more time for URI patients-E&M criteria do not capture what is lost when these visits are viewed simply as “Level 2 Office Visit, CPT 99212.”