All News

As a resident teacher, I try to make bedside rounds relevant by identifying the needs of my learners and demonstrating key points at the bedside. The topic this day was management of a patient at end of life. Our patient was signed out to the team as a 70-year-old former executive with metastatic colon cancer who had been admitted overnight. Five different regimens of our best new drugs had made no impact, and he had arrived to emergency care with progressive colonic obstruction.

For 3 days, a 28-year-old woman with a history of polymyositis and possible dermatomyositis had fever, chills, and nonproductive cough. She complained of rash, joint pain, and progressive immobility because of severe muscle weakness. For the past 6 years, she had been taking prednisone (60 mg/d), hydroxychloroquine (200 mg bid), and tramadol (100 mg q6h prn for pain).

A 45-year-old man of Hispanic ancestry presents for evaluation of what he describes as a "growth in both eyes." This growth has been present for some time; however, it has recently become more prominent. The patient has had mild redness and irritation in both eyes, but he denies any change in vision.

Looking at contemporary medicine’s complex landscape, especially in regard to soaring costs, can make practitioners dizzy. For example, if primary care physicians were asked whether it is cost-efficient and reasonable to screen with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measurement for early-stage prostate cancer in men with terminal pancreatic cancer or to perform colonoscopy for early diagnosis of colon cancer in women with stage IV lung cancer, the answer would be a quick and uniform no. Unfortunately, a recent publication suggests that in the real world the answer has been yes, as disturbing and wasteful as that may be.

•  Search images and case studies of conditions submitted by physicians •  Browse by anatomy, image type, or diagnosis •  Use high-resolution images to improve diagnostics •  Click on any diagnosis to learn about symptoms and treatment •  Bookmark images

Obesity is associated with a broad range of GI health risks. An expert panel discussed these risks, which were documented in abstracts presented at the 2010 ACG Scientific Meeting.

The ACG 75th Annual Scientific Meeting provides an overview of recent advances in the diagnosis and treatment of various GI disorders, ranging from ulcerative colitis to fructose intolerance in children. ConsultantLive has captured the highlights of the meeting with reports on key presentations.