Medicine - Stories in Medicine

The first of a series of stories from Dr. John Bartlett, Associate Editor of the journal Medicine and former chief of the division of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins Hospital. In this episode Dr. Bartlett talks about why he loves infectious diseases, how he got into the field as a young doctor, and what makes the field so exciting.

Dr. John Bartlett discusses the article "Community-Acquired Legionella pneumophila Pneumonia: A Single-Center Experience With 214 Hospitalized Sporadic Cases Over 15 Years" from the January 2013 issue. He talks about the bounty of Spanish bacterial studies and the fascinating bug that is Legionella pneumophila. (Why would the same bug that causes lethal pneumonia in one patient cause milder flu-like Pontiac fever in another?)

Dr. Roy Ziegelstein discusses the value of autopsies and the incredible, indelible effect of seeing pathology revealed in figures. Readers will be blown away by the beauty of the figures and the correlation of the pictures with the description of pathology presented in the article "Natural History of Adults With Congenitally Malformed Aortic Valves (Unicuspid or Bicuspid)," in the November 2012 issue of Medicine. The article is a tour-de-force that may not be seen again as autopsies become more rare. These images can have a lasting effect on a clinician's practice.

Dr. John Bartlett discusses the article “Systematic Use of Universal 16S rRNA Gene Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Sequencing for Processing Pleural Effusions Improves Conventional Culture Techniques." Exciting new molecular techniques are being developed that will be able to identify the total bacteriology of almost any specimen. The microbiology lab of the future will look very different; agar plates may be obsolete. Clinicians can look forward to getting an etiologic diagnosis within hours rather than days, leading to better targeting of antibiotic treatment. See ya, seaweed!

In this episode, Dr. John Bartlett recaps the rise and fall of the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) exotoxin as a suspect in high mortality and devastating infections related to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The story starts in France and goes global, with a stop in the locker room of the St. Louis Rams football team! Find out why PVL is still important today.