In this episode, returning guest Dr. Michelle Starr joins us to unpack the complexities of renal tubular acidosis. Together, we explore how to distinguish between RTA types and highlight the key diagnostic clues and treatment strategies most relevant to pediatric patients. Whether you’re managing a challenging case on the wards or brushing up for boards, this conversation will deepen your understanding and knowledge-base!

Why does valproic acid cause elevated ammonia?Ah, serum ammonia. A lab that is often sent and often a head-scratcher. Sometimes an altered patient with cirrhosis and the most textbook asterixis will have a normal serum ammonia. And other times a patient has a sky-high ammonia and you have no idea why. Have you ever stopped and checked if they’re on valproic acid?

Kim Schamel, medical director of the Newborn Assessment Nursery at Washington University/St. Louis Children’s Hospital, walks us through newborn nursery 101! She gives pointers for the newborn physical exam, counseling strategies for safe sleep, gives us a framework for evaluating neonatal weight loss, and so much more. From the golden hour to the discharge talk and everything in between, she reminds us that when it comes to healthy babies, just feed them, love them, and don’t shake them!

Level up your COPD care with practical, evidence-based strategies. Learn how to confirm airflow obstruction with spirometry (and use LLN/Z-scores thoughtfully), stage patients with the A/B/E framework, and build treatment around long-acting bronchodilation—adding ICS selectively based on exacerbations and eosinophils. We’ll highlight the nonpharmacologic moves that change outcomes (smoking cessation, vaccination, pulmonary rehab, oxygen when indicated), when to reach for add-ons (azithromycin, r...

Come share insights from AIMW25 with Julie Byington C-TAGME, Ashley Johnson C-TAGME, Samatha Ankireddy MD, and Laura Thompson MD on effective communication and navigating difficult conversations. Understanding our own emotions and personality traits—while being attentive to others’ verbal and non-verbal cues—helps build emotional intelligence and promotes respectful, productive dialogue. Adapting communication styles to different personality types and approaching high-stakes conversations with p...

Grow your management tools for opioid withdrawal in the hospital. Investigate how to decide between methadone and buprenorphine, additional medications to manage symptoms and how and when to use short-acting opioids for management of withdrawal. We’re joined by Ashish Thakrar, MD at the University of Pennsylvania.

Is it treatment failure or not? Join us for a great conversation with Dr. Jori May (University of Alabama-Birmingham) on all the nuances around DOAC treatment failure and treatment indications for the hospitalized patient.