In episode 574, James and Mike invite Jennifer Young back to the podcast to help us yet again look at the evidence for cranberries and the prevention of UTI’s. Unfortunately, there is a problem with the evidence as there is a high risk-of-bias from potential publication bias, small studies, and unblinding. However, if we look […]

In episode 573, James and Mike invite Jamie Falk back to the podcast to help us simplify all the evidence around using antipsychotics for difficult to treat depression. They do seem to “work”, but you really need to know the numbers around what “work” means. At the end of the podcast, you will! Show notes […]

In episode 572, James and Mike invite Samantha Moe back to the podcast to go over the evidence around the safety and effectiveness of the monoclonal antibodies used to reduce the risk of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in infants. We go over all the numbers for hospitalizations and death so you can make evidence-informed […]

In episode 570, James and Mike finish their trilogy on statistics. We take what we discussed in the previous podcasts and go through a couple of examples that will hopefully solidify what all the terms and numbers really mean. Show Notes 1) Sensible Medicine Doing statistics can be difficult but understanding them can be fairly […]

In episode 569, James and Mike continue to go over what statistics really show – we focus on what inferential statistics can and cannot do, what a p value means and more importantly what it doesn’t mean. And yes we try to keep all this stat stuff on a realistic and practical level – easier […]

In episode 568, James and Mike go over what statistics really show – and importantly what they don’t show. We go over the terms and nuances and hopefully put them all into a simple context. Statistics are not just in medicine – they are in much of what you do every day – so you […]

In episode 567, Mike and James revisit the old topic of industry influence on health care providers. We go over the issues, the nuances and some of the latest evidence around the interactions, the influence, and patient perceptions. Show Notes 1) Industry Evidence Handout 2) MAKING EVIDENCE MATTER for EVERYONE CONFERENCE Vancouver May 24/25, 2024 […]

In episode 566, Mike and James invite Émélie back yet again to the podcast and the topic is the balance of benefits to harms of using corticosteroids in adults or children for atopic dermatitis. We come to the realization, as always, that how to use topical corticosteroids is based on knowing the best available evidence […]

In episode 565, Mike and James invite Émélie Braschi back to the podcast to talk about do-it-yourself hearing aids. We find some very interesting information about how direct-to-consumer self-fitted hearing aids compare to conventional hearing aids fitted via audiogram. You really need to listen to this podcast – your patients will thank you. Show notes […]

Episode 564: Can non-hormonal drugs improve vasomotor symptoms in menopause? In episode 564, Mike and James invite Samantha Moe back to the podcast to talk about the benefits and harms of non-hormonal medications for vasomotor symptoms in menopause. We find they do have an effect over placebo but also people in the placebo group improve, […]

In episode 563, Mike and James go over all the RCT evidence for the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine in older adults. You need to know the vaccine works, but you really need to know the baseline risk of RSV before anyone can really make an informed decision about this vaccine. We’ll do our best […]

In episode 562, Mike and James continue to discuss our recently revised 2023 simplified lipid guidelines with Adrienne and Mike. We talk about all the medications used for cardiovascular risk reduction. We go over all the evidence and all the numbers for the benefits (and sometimes lack of benefit) and the harms. We also specifically […]

In episode 561, Mike and James invite Adrienne Lindblad and Mike Kolber to discuss our recently revised 2023 simplified lipid guidelines. We talk about the guideline process, the best available evidence, and discuss some of the rationale we used to recommend the simpler approaches outlined in our guideline. As always, the focus was on shared […]

In episode 560, Mike and James finish their discussion around the use of hallucinogens/psychedelics by going over the psilocybin evidence. As with ketamine we cover the many limitations of the evidence around psilocybin and also talk about the side effects, costs and inconvenience. So now you know all we know for what that is worth. […]

In episode 559, Mike and James continue to discuss the best available evidence around ketamine and severe depression. We go over the many limitations of the evidence and at the end we wrap it all up by going over the side effects, costs and inconvenience. Show notes HANDOUT Psychodelics Podcast From Hallucinations to Healing?

In episode 558, Mike and James decide to start to tackle the ketamine for depression story. Mike talks about what the media says about ketamine and then he delves into what the guidelines say. Then as always, we discuss the best available evidence. Have a listen so that you can be in the know about […]

Episode 557: Fancy Creams for Scaly Skin: Topical calcineurin inhibitors for atopic dermatitis In episode 557, Mike and James invite Emelie Braschi back to the podcast to talk about how effective topical calcineurin inhibitors are for atopic dermatitis. We’ll give you all the numbers so have a listen and learn what they are. Show notes […]

In episode 556, Mike and James have Betsy Thomas back to podcast to talk about how effective are artificial tears for people with dry eyes. Both of us cry halfway through the podcast because of the craziness and inconsistency of the evidence. Have a listen and see what we found. Show notes Tools for Practice […]

In episode 555, James and Mike invite Jamie Falk back to the podcast to talk about the best available evidence for acetylsalicylic acid and its potential impact on reducing the risk of complications in women at risk of preeclampsia. The evidence is pretty clear and we are able to give decent estimates of the benefits […]

In episode 554, James and Mike go over a topic we have never covered in 553 previous podcasts. We invited Samantha Moe back to the podcast to talk about how effective are pelvic floor exercises or pessaries for stress urinary incontinence. We find that the magnitude of the benefits from pelvic floor exercises is fairly […]

In episode 553, James and Mike get Jen Potter back to talk about the last option we have for heavy menstrual bleeding – tranexamic acid. We talk about how it compares to placebo, NSAIDs, progestins and levonorgestrel intrauterine devices and go over all the numbers for benefits and harms. And then as always, we put […]

In episode 552, James and Mike go over a couple of new trials. We talk about a blood pressure trial that examined taking the pills in the morning vs the evening and a heart failure trial that looked at getting patients on “high intensity” treatment. Find out the results here. Show notes Cardiovascular outcomes in […]

In episode 551, James and Mike invite Danielle Perry back to the podcast to talk about the best available evidence for the use of statins in people 65 and over. As you’ll hear, we have lots of evidence so all you need to know is what it says. Then, you can have an evidence-based discussion […]

In episode 549, James and Mike invite Blair MacDonald to the podcast for the first time and we talk about a topic that we haven’t really covered to-date. We discuss the evidence around what happens to the risk of pancreatitis when we use triglyceride-lowering medications (fibrates, statins, niacin, omega-3s) in patients with hypertriglyceridemia. Have a […]