LETTERS : An Insidious Infection in Indiana - Newyork Times

Published: March 18, 2009

To the Editor :

“Our Pigs, Our Food, Our Health,” by Nicholas D. Kristof (column, March 12), addresses a topic of paramount importance, the epidemic of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in our community.

Mr. Kristof draws an association between the occurrence of community-acquired MRSA in a farm town in northwestern Indiana to the death of a family doctor. From the facts presented, there is no evidence that the doctor died of MRSA. Without a proper investigation, such anecdotal information may deter doctors from caring for MRSA patients. Recall the early stages of the H.I.V. epidemic. Read More

LETTERS : An Insidious Infection in Indiana - Newyork Times

Published: March 18, 2009

To the Editor :

“Our Pigs, Our Food, Our Health,” by Nicholas D. Kristof (column, March 12), addresses a topic of paramount importance, the epidemic of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in our community.

Mr. Kristof draws an association between the occurrence of community-acquired MRSA in a farm town in northwestern Indiana to the death of a family doctor. From the facts presented, there is no evidence that the doctor died of MRSA. Without a proper investigation, such anecdotal information may deter doctors from caring for MRSA patients. Recall the early stages of the H.I.V. epidemic.Read More

Even 'Snake Oil' Can Help Patients Heal - Washington Post

Published: March 17, 2009

"Our conference was being held over lunch, but Pat, a middle-aged health-care consultant, did not touch a bite of her food. When I asked if something was wrong, she revealed her lifelong battle with Crohn's disease, an inflammation of the bowels that causes diarrhea and abdominal pain.

I asked what her doctor advised. With some hesitation, she told me she was chiefly being treated by someone she called her "teacher," who helped her use her use qi gong, a Chinese system of breathing and energy exercise, to manage her illness. Read More

Want to Live a Bit Longer? Speak Up. - Washington Post

Published: February 17, 2009

"Did you know that women live longer than men?" I asked my wife.

Of course she did -- and not just because, like me, she is a physician. Anybody who walks into a nursing home can see the imbalance. Most people's grandmothers outlive their grandfathers, and 85 percent of centenarians are women. So my wife nodded, without paying much attention.Read More

A Skeptic Becomes A True Believer - Washington Post

Published: February 10, 2009

I was skeptical when my hospital embarked several years ago on an initiative to reduce the number of hospital-acquired infections in our intensive care unit.

These are infections that originate from the tubes and catheters inserted into the body -- for example, ventilator-associated pneumonia, related to a tube lodged in the windpipe to assist in breathing; urinary tract infection, related to a catheter inserted into the bladder to drain the urine; and bloodstream infection, related to a catheter threaded in the veins reaching the upper chamber of the heart. Read More

Once Detected, HIV Can Be Manageable - Washington Post

Published: December 09, 2008

Ten years ago, an intelligent, reserved software engineer -- a woman with the complexion of Halle Berry and the physique of a marathoner -- came to my infectious-disease clinic, accompanied by her fiance.

They'd been referred to me a few weeks after a rash and pneumonia prompted a clinic doctor to test the woman for HIV. The test came back positive. Her fiance, tested later, was HIV-negative. Read More

Patients Can Join the Fight Against Flu Without Firing a Shot - Washington Post

Published: November 25, 2008

Last month at a luncheon marking International Infection Prevention Week at the National Press Club, some speakers reminded me of a shameful and frightening statistic: Almost 60 percent of American health-care workers do not receive the flu vaccine.

Let me put that in context: Influenza, commonly called the flu, strikes 5 to 20 percent of Americans annually. In an average year, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized with flu complications; nearly 36,000 die, either from the flu itself or from complications such as pneumonia or a heart attack. Read More