CMAJ Podcasts

Reported gonorrhea cases have more than doubled in recent years. Untreated gonorrhea may occasionally cause potentially fatal conditions, such as infective endocarditis. In this episode, Dr. Carl Boodman, infectious disease and medical microbiology fellow at the University of Manitoba, discusses a case of disseminated gonococcal infection in a 54- year old man who presented to ER with a new heart murmur. The case was described in a recent CMAJ article, which explains that the patient had developed an aortic root abscess and a fistula from his right ventricle to the aortic root.Dr. Boodman tells Dr. Blair Bigham and Dr. Mojola Omole that, while severe cases of disseminated gonococcal infection such as this remain relatively rare, he is seeing more of them in Manitoba. He emphasizes the importance of detecting and treating gonococcal infection before it has a chance to progress.Gonorrhea is just one of the bacterial STIs on the rise. Drs. Bigham and Omole also speak with Dr. Jason Wong, a Public Health and Preventive Medicine specialist in BC, about what’s behind the rise in STIs and about what lessons can be learned from the relative decline in HIV infections.Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

Operative vaginal delivery (OVD) is considered safe if carried out by trained personnel; however, the rate of maternal trauma following OVD in Canada greatly exceeds that of any other OECD country. In Canada, maternal trauma occurred in more than one-quarter of deliveries with forceps, whereas in the UK, the rate is 8%-12%, and in Australia, it sits at ​​9.3%-14.1%.A research study published in CMAJ found that rates of trauma following OVD in Canada are higher than previously reported, irrespective of region, level of obstetric care and volume of instrument use among hospitals. The authors argue these results support a reassessment of OVD safety in Canada. In this episode, Dr. Bigham and Blair and Dr. Mojola Omole speak with Dr. Giulia Muraca, the lead author of Maternal and neonatal trauma following operative vaginal delivery: a national cohort study. They explore possible causes for these troubling findings.They then speak with Dr. Nirmala Chandrasekaran, an OB/GYN and Maternal-Fetal-Medicine specialist at St. Michael’s hospital in Toronto. Dr. Chandrasakan trained in the UK, and she describes how exposure to OVD during residency differs in the two countries. She also discusses the vital role OVD plays in safe deliveries.Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

People with kidney failure who live in rural and remote areas of Canada do not have the same access to the full suite of dialysis modalities as urban dwellers. Many need to relocate for life-sustaining renal replacement therapy. Often this means moving hours away from their home communities for months, sometimes years, at a time.In this episode, hosts Drs. Mojola Omole and Blair Bigham speak with Dr. Aaron Trachtenberg, a nephrologist at the University of Manitoba about his commentary in CMAJ, in which he and coauthors argued that patients who must leave their home communities for dialysis should be prioritized for the allocation of deceased donor kidney transplants.They also speak with Vanessa Tait whose father needed to relocate to Winnipeg, twelve hours away from his home community of O-pipon-na-piwin Cree Nation, for dialysis. Ms. Tait became a living donor to her father in an effort to bring him back home. She talks about the toll relocation takes on patients from remote communities.Commentary in CMAJCMAJComments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

The CMAJ podcast is taking a break for one episode as everyone enjoys their holidays and gets prepared for the year ahead. In this brief chat, Mojola and Blair preview some of the upcoming episodes and wish all our listeners a happy and safe holiday.Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

One simple question can offer clinicians a powerful insight into the lives of their vulnerable patients. Asking, “Do you ever have trouble making ends meet at the end of the month” can help physicians identify significant barriers to restoring the health of their patients.The link between the social conditions in which we live and health outcomes is well-known. However, health provider action to address the social determinants of health is an emerging area of practice innovation and research. This episode looks at what social prescribing looks like in action and what the evidence tells us about its effectiveness.Drs. Mojola Omole and Blair Bigham speak with Janet Rodriguez, a patient at St. Michael’s Family Health Care Clinic in Toronto. She describes the profound impact social interventions had on her physical and mental health.  They also speak with Dr. Gary Bloch, a family physician at St. Michael’s Family Health Care Clinic and a co-author of the analysis published in CMAJ titled “An Evidence-Based Guide to Social Interventions in Primary Care.”Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

The pandemic recovery period presents an opportunity to address health inequities that have led to an unfair distribution of the burden and harms of COVID-19. New guidance for policy published in CMAJ  proposes 13 practical ways to address inequities exposed and worsened by COVID-19 in the pandemic recovery period, based on evidence that was accumulating before the pandemic.In this special episode of the podcast, CMAJ interim editor-in-chief Dr. Kirsten Patrick talks to Dr. Nav Persaud, lead author on the new guideline, about its genesis, the evidence underpinning its recommendations, and the importance of positioning equity at the centre of policy-making as Canada emerges from the pandemic.Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

Pain is one of the most common complaints among patients visiting the ER, and pain management has become a quality of care indicator. But the options available for the treatment of acute pain that isn’t controlled by over-the-counter medications are limited. With the opioid epidemic leading physicians to avoid prescribing narcotics, the anaesthetic drug, ketamine, is being reconsidered for the treatment of pain, as well as other indications. A practice article  in CMAJ argues that ketamine is an underutilized and effective analgesic and a safer alternative to opioids for the management of acute pain, with reported adverse effects at low doses occurring at the same frequency as placebo. In this episode, Blair and Mojola speak to Dr. William Silverstein, a co-author of the practice article “Five things to know about the use of ketamine in the treatment of acute pain” about ketamine’s indications and contraindications, how to prescribe it in the ambulatory care setting, and practical steps physicians can take to add ketamine to their pain-busting arsenal.They also speak with Dr. Marshall Ross, a physician who also uses ketamine as an emergency physician, but has also pioneered its use in patients with treatment-resistant depression, using cutting edge techniques.Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

One in four women physicians report a diagnosis of infertility. One reason for this is physicians tend to delay attempts to become pregnant until “the time is right” for their career.  But, in the medical profession, it seems there is really no “good” time to have children. Parenthood, especially motherhood, is seen as an inconvenience during medical training and beyond. In this episode, Dr. Sophia Park speaks with hosts Dr. Mojola Omole and Dr. Blair Bigham about her personal struggle with infertility. And, Dr. Andrea Simpson, the lead author of a commentary in the CMAJ titled, “The inconvenience of motherhood during a medical career”  calls for systemic change in medicine to support parenthood.Dr. Sophia Park is a medical biochemist at Royal Columbian Hospital and a Clinical Associate Professor at the UBC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.Dr. Andrea Simpson is an obstetrician and minimally invasive gynaecologic surgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital. She is also an assistant professor at the University of Toronto.She co-authored her commentary with Drs. Maria Cusimano and Nancy Baxter. It is published in CMAJ: https://www.cmaj.ca/content/193/37/E1465Episode transcript: https://www.cmaj.ca/transcript-211255-----------------------------------This podcast episode is brought to you by Scotiabank Healthcare+. Learn more at: https://mdm.ca/promos/you-ve-come-a-long-way?utm_source=CMAJ&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=CTP&utm_content=PHD-----------------------------------This podcast episode is brought to you by Audi Canada. Get details of the Audi incentive program for CMA members at www.audiprofessional.ca.-----------------------------------Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

Button batteries, sometimes called coin batteries, are small round batteries that power various electronic devices such as watches, remote controls or small kid toys. They are small and shiny, which is why young children will sometimes grab them and put them in their mouths. But they can cause severe injury in a child if the button battery becomes lodged in the digestive tract. In this episode, Dr. Savithiri Ratnapalan talks about the dangers of swallowing button batteries, what parents can do immediately at home, and how button battery ingestion is managed in hospital.Dr. Savithiri Ratnapalan is a pediatric emergency physician at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. She co-authored a practice article with Dr. Amy Zipursky. It is published in CMAJ: https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.210572Podcast transcript: https://www.cmaj.ca/transcript-210572-----------------------------------This podcast episode is brought to you by Scotiabank Healthcare+. Learn more at: https://mdm.ca/promos/you-ve-come-a-long-way?utm_source=CMAJ&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=CTP&utm_content=PHD-----------------------------------This podcast episode is brought to you by Dr. Bill. Dr. Bill makes billing on the go easy and pain free. Start your 45-day free trial today: www.drbill.app/cmaj-----------------------------------This podcast episode is brought to you by Shingrix. Learn more at: https://www.shingrix.ca/en-ca/index.html-----------------------------------Subscribe to CMAJ Podcasts on Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast app. You can also follow us directly on our SoundCloud page or you can visit www.cmaj.ca/page/multimedia/podcasts.Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have transformed our lives. The adoption of AI in medicine has perhaps lagged its adoption in other areas, and machine learning in healthcare has had mixed results. In this episode, Drs. Muhammad Mamdani and Amol Verma discuss a series of three CMAJ articles on the development, use, misuse, and evaluation of machine-learned models in medicine. Dr. Muhammad Mamdani is vice-president of data science and advanced analytics at Unity Health Toronto, director of the Temerty Center for Artificial Intelligence Education and Research in Medicine, and professor at the University of Toronto. Dr. Amol Verma is a physician and scientist at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto, an AMS healthcare fellow in compassion and artificial intelligence and a provincial clinical lead in health quality improvement with Ontario Health. They are both two of the authors of the articles series published in CMAJ: Implementing machine learning in medicinehttps://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.202434Problems in the deployment of machine-learned models in health carehttps://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.202066Evaluation of machine learning solutions in medicinehttps://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.210036Podcast transcript: https://www.cmaj.ca/transcript-202434-----------------------------------This podcast episode is brought to you by Audi Canada. The Canadian Medical Association has partnered with Audi Canada to offer CMA members a preferred incentive on select vehicle models. Purchase any new qualifying Audi model and receive an additional cash incentive based on the purchase type. Details of the incentive program can be found at https://www.audiprofessional.ca.-----------------------------------This podcast episode is brought to you by Dr. Bill. Dr. Bill makes billing on the go easy and pain free. Start your 45-day free trial today: https://www.drbill.app/cmaj-----------------------------------This podcast episode is brought to you by Shingrix. Learn more at:https://www.shingrix.ca/en-ca/index.html-----------------------------------Subscribe to CMAJ Podcasts on Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast app. You can also follow us directly on our SoundCloud page or you can visit https://www.cmaj.ca/page/multimedia/podcasts.Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions