JAMA Clinical Reviews

Atrial fibrillation is a very common problem that is treated with a variety of medications and interventions. Sandip Mukherjee, MD, a contributing editor to The Medical Letter, is the Medical Director of Physician Liaison Services with the Office of the Chief Medical Officer at Yale New Haven Hospital, and an associate professor of medicine at Yale. He summarizes the latest information published in The Medical Letter on treatments for atrial fibrillation.

Winter is coming…and with it, the onset of flu season. In this episode, Jean-Marie Pflomm, PharmD, Editor in Chief of The Medical Letter, decodes flu vaccines: trivalent vs quadrivalent, live attenuated vs inactivated, and much more.

Adolescent boys are notoriously difficult to deal with. However, some of their behaviors mask a need they have for developing intimate friendships. Being adolescent boys living in a macho culture, many deny that they need these relationships. Niobe Way, EdD, professor of Developmental Psychology at New York University, has spent her professional career studying adolescent boys' relationships with each other and how they affect their behaviors. She explains how to intervene to help them better understand their needs for intimacy, which, in turn, helps them to better relate with people and avoid unpleasant behaviors. Related article: Loneliness Might Be a Killer, but What's the Best Way to Protect Against It? CME Quiz The Listening Project

Even though it gained notoriety for recreational uses, Ketamine is experiencing a resurgence in clinical settings given its versatility and potential applications, including for pain treatment and depression. David Juurlink, MD, from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center and John Krystal, MD from Yale University discuss current and emerging applications of this drug.

Pancreatic cancer is the third most common cause of cancer death in the United States. Timothy Donohue, MD, chief of surgical oncology at the University of California, Los Angeles, provides an overview of the disease. Read the articles: Screening for Pancreatic Cancer Pancreatic Cancer

Explore how mendelian randomization studies reveal insights into cardiovascular risk assessment through low LDL and blood pressure levels with Dr. Brian Ferrance. Discover the impact of genetic variants on cholesterol levels and cardiovascular disease risk, including the role of PCSK9. Learn how maintaining lower LDL and blood pressure levels can reduce cardiovascular risk, and delve into the predictive power of genetic variations for cardiovascular disease.

Personal protective equipment comprises gloves, gowns, masks, regular respirators, and powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs). In this Clinical Review podcast Trish Perl, MD, of UT Southwestern Medical Center reviews the indications for each and the results of the RESPECT trial, which reported no difference in incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza among health care personnel randomized to wear N95 respiratory or medical masks. She's interviewed by JAMA Fishbein fellow Angel Desai, MD.

JAMA Fishbein Fellow Angel Desai, MD interviews Douglas S. Krakower, MD at the IDWeek 2019 conference in Washington, D.C. Related article: Rising PrEP Awareness

This Clinical Review podcast reviews some of the most important advances in clinical infectious diseases presented at IDWeek 2019 including data on rapid testing, new antimicrobial agents, and new strategies for using existing antibiotics to manage antimicrobial resistance. JAMA Fishbein Fellow Angel Desai, MD interviews Helen Boucher, MD of Tufts University.

Since the passage of the Dickey Amendment in 1996, federal funding for gun violence research has been withheld from the CDC and other federal agencies that should be tasked with figuring out the origins and solutions to this problem. But while the US government has been locked in a political stalemate, other entities are stepping up in a new model for getting the job done.