Tanveer Brar BSc BSc(Pharm) ACPR, Doson Chua BSc(Pharm) PharmD FCSHP BCPS BCCP, and Laura Atiyeh
January 13, 2021
Sodium Glucose Cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) Inhibitors: New drug class in the treatment of Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction — DAPA-HF and EMPEROR-Reduced trials
Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In 2020, the prevalence of HF was approximately 64.34 million cases (8.52 per 1,000 inhabitants) worldwide and this number has been steadily increasing over time. There is compelling evidence to suggest that in individuals with HFrEF in the presence or absence of T2DM, both dapagliflozin and empagliflozin have profound effects on reduction of HF hospitalizations and possibly CV mortality. read more...
Dr. Steve Wong
December 23, 2020
Letter from the editor
2020 will go down as the most challenging year on a number of fronts — with unprecedented stressors affecting our personal and professional lives, not to mention the enormous struggles facing our local and global communities. Thanks to everyone on the front lines, and condolences to all those touched by this pandemic. I hope we can continue to work together to beat COVID-19 and I take solace in the fact the turning point seems to be coming as vaccines are deployed. This year also marks This Changed My Practice's 10th year. It's been an incredibly rewarding journey. Given this milestone, I'll indulge in a little bit of history and acknowledgments but also share some of our learnings and future plans. read more...
Dr. Jeff Harries
December 7, 2020
Alcohol Use Disorder — New Name, New Standard of Care, Dramatically Better Outcomes
Editor’s note: Here is the revised article on AUD by Dr. Harries, which more prominently emphasizes the stepwise approach in the BC AUD guidelines. We appreciate the patience of our readership and special thanks to Dr. Harries for his passion and commitment to treating AUD. We would also like to thank Dr. Keith Ahamad (co-chair […] read more...
Dr. Jennifer Russel & Françoise Mathieu MEd RP
November 18, 2020
Psychological PPE during COVID-19
A few weeks into the COVID-19 crisis and as a psychiatrist working in a tertiary care hospital, while homeschooling my two boys, I had a strong awareness that I needed to really work to keep myself healthy in a way that I have never felt before to make sure I was able to survive this crisis. I needed to grab my psychological PPE. read more...
Dr. Simon Moore
November 4, 2020
“Can you prescribe me cannabis, doc?”
A 2019 systematic review of 26 studies (4 from Canada) concluded that there is a “unanimous lack of self-perceived knowledge” among practitioners regarding medicinal cannabis use. Now, when a patient asks me about cannabis, I no longer suffer from dizziness, dry mouth, and paranoia. read more...
Dr. Eileen Murray
October 14, 2020
Treating Teenagers with Acne
Acne vulgaris is a distressing disease beginning at puberty, involving the pilosebaceous follicles of the skin on the face, chest, and back. The incidence of acne in teenagers is nearly 100%. Treating teenagers with acne was an exceptionally important part of my practice. read more...
Drs. Philip Lee and Stefanie Falz Mclellan
September 30, 2020
Portable ultrasound
The integration of point of care ultrasound (PoCUS) in the emergency department workflow is not always easy, and these challenges have been amplified in the time of COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increased interest in the use of handheld ultrasound devices as they simplify infection control procedures and take up little space in emergency rooms crowded with critical care equipment. read more...
Azin Ahrari, Neda Amiri, Mohammad Bardi, Natasha Dehghan
September 16, 2020
Giant Cell Arteritis Part 1: Diagnosis
Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most common vasculitis in adults above 50 years of age. GCA is a rheumatological emergency. Rapid diagnosis and treatment are required to reduce the risk of complications. read more...
Omid Kiamanesh, MD, FRCPC
August 26, 2020
Icosapent Ethyl to Reduce Atherosclerotic Events in Patients with Hypertriglyceridemia
Despite intensive lowering of LDL-C using lipid-modifying therapy, residual ASCVD risk persists, particularly in those with hypertriglyceridemia. Icosapent ethyl has been shown to reduce residual ASCVD risk and cardiovascular death in select patients with hypertriglyceridemia while on statin therapy. read more...
Dr. Joanna Cheek
August 5, 2020
Stress First Aid as a form of Peer Support
It’s not easy to train in new skills to support our mental health when the race has already begun. We are all going to cycle out of the green zone many times, regardless of our practice of self-care. We need each other right now to provide peer support to help each of us notice when we’re moving to the right of the stress continuum and pause or pace ourselves so we can complete this marathon together. read more...
Nima Moghaddam MD, Christopher Cheung MD, Kenneth Gin MD
July 15, 2020
Transforming Management of Stable Ischemic Heart Disease – To Revascularize or Not? How the ISCHEMIA trial will affect clinical practice
The debate over the optimal management in stable ischemic heart disease has grown over the past decade with more evidence supporting a conservative medical therapy approach over an upfront invasive strategy with coronary revascularization. However, there remains significant practice variation in deciding when to pursue coronary revascularization. read more...
Dr. Matthew Clifford-Rashotte and Dr. Natasha Press
June 24, 2020
Interpretation of Syphilis Serology
We frequently encounter questions about the interpretation of syphilis serology and about the appropriate treatment of various clinical stages of syphilis. read more...
