Medscape's Ask the Experts allows you to ask members of a panel of leading experts for advice or information. You also have the opportunity to share your own views and insights by clicking the "Discuss this" link at the top of each response.

• What Should Patients Do With Unused Narcotics? Clinicians often tell patients to save their remaining narcotics for "next time." According to guidelines, this may not be the best advice.
  Ask the Experts, November 2009
• Psychogenic Pain or Peripheral Neuropathy? Expert David Simpson, MD, discusses diagnosing and treating painful peripheral neuropathy.
  Ask the Experts, September 2009
• How Does Oral Hairy Leukoplakia Present? What would you need to know if a patient presented with this tongue lesion?
  Ask the Experts, April 2009
• Triple Rule-out CTA in the Emergency Department Is triple rule-out CTA the best diagnostic modality for distinguishing the cause of chest pain in the emergency department?
  Ask the Experts, April 2009
• Is Gardasil® Recommended for Young Women Already Exposed to HPV? Many clinicians are uncertain as to whether they should recommend Gardasil vaccination to young women who have already tested positive for human papillomavirus or who have had an abnormal Pap test.
  Ask the Experts, April 2009
• What Are the Pros and Cons of Using Bundles to Prevent Infection in the ICU? Bundles seem to be everywhere. Read our expert's tips on implementing bundles in the ICU.
  Ask the Experts, March 2009
• What Antibiotic Covers Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) Infection? Is piperacillin/tazobactam adequate, or should you add a penicillinase-resistant penicillin?
  Ask the Experts, February 2009
• When Is Skin Testing for Penicillin Allergy Indicated? Many patients report penicillin allergies, but who is really allergic, and who needs skin testing?
  Ask the Experts, January 2009
• Does Vitamin B12 Help Relieve Fatigue? Patients may request vitamin B12 shots to relieve fatigue, but is this treatment effective?
  Ask the Experts, January 2009
• Is It Safe To Order Drugs From Overseas Pharmacies? Alert your patients to the dangers of Internet and overseas pharmacies.
  Ask the Experts, December 2008
• Can Opiates Be Administered by Nebulizer? Some clinicians are using nebulized morphine to treat pain and breathlessness in patients with COPD and CHF, but is there evidence to back that up?
  Ask the Experts, May 2008
• Can Fentanyl Patches Be Replaced Sooner to Improve Pain Control? The approved dosing interval for transdermal fentanyl is 72 hours, but some pain specialists are shortening that period to provide adequate pain relief.
  Ask the Experts, January 2008
• Hepatitis C Virus Infection and Hepatic Steatosis Considering the association of hepatitis C and the possible stimulatory effect of steatosis, would the glitazones represent the therapy of choice for diabetic patients infected with HCV?
  Ask the Experts, October 2006
• Combining Methadone With Other Long-acting and Short-acting Opioids for Pain Management Why am I seeing more and more patients with prescriptions for massive amounts of pain medication who are taking methadone plus narcotics?
  Ask the Experts, March 2006
• Differential Diagnosis of CNS Lesions in a Patient Nonadherent to HAART Clenching an accurate diagnosis in some HIV-infected patients with CNS disease often requires extensive clinical, imaging, and laboratory work-up.
  Ask the Experts, November 2005
• Antiretroviral Susceptibility of Non-B HIV-1 Subtypes Studies have produced conflicting results about susceptibility of different viral clades to highly active antiretroviral therapy. Learn more here.
  Ask the Experts, October 2005
• Salvage Antiretroviral Therapy With Double-Boosted PIs Although uncontrolled case series have shown some virologic success with this strategy even in highly PI-experienced patients, interactions between PIs and increased antiretrovirals remain a problem.
  Ask the Experts, September 2005
• PML, Despite Long-term Virologic Suppression and High CD4+ Cell Count Why has this patient developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, despite HIV control for 5 years?
  Ask the Experts, August 2005
• Diagnosis & Management of Congenital CMV/Perinatal HIV Exposure What is the current consensus on the management of a newborn with congenital cytomegalovirus infection and perinatal HIV exposure?
  Ask the Experts, June 2005
• Pneumonia Pathogens With ALI or ARDS? What are the most common pathogenic bacteria for acute severe pneumonia with ALI or ARDS?
  Ask the Experts, May 2005

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