The use of electric scooters (e-scooters) has witnessed a substantial surge globally. However, the presence of these motorized vehicles on sidewalks poses a significant risk to pedestrians. A recent practice paper published in CMAJ describes the case of a 68-year-old woman who suffered serious injuries while walking on a city sidewalk after being hit by an e-scooter traveling at approximately 30 km/h.  While the authors of the paper recognize e-scooters as a popular, efficient and green form of transportation, they argue effective policies are needed to mitigate risks associated with thei ..read more

Uptake of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for children aged 5–11 years has been lower than anticipated in Canada. Although research has explored parental intentions toward SARS-CoV-2 vaccination for children, the drivers of parents’ decisions to seek vaccination for their children - or not -  have not been studied in-depth.  A research paper published in CMAJ,  entitled Parents’ perspectives on SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations for children: a qualitative analysis, sought to explore parents’ decision-making. It was a collaboration between physicians, social scientists and research scientists.  ..read more

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Ontario saw a 5600% increase in virtual visits to health care practitioners, while in-office visits decreased by 79% from the previous year. In 2018, only 4% of family physicians in Canada were offering video visits while, at the peak of the pandemic, about 80% of primary care visits were being delivered virtually in Ontario. Media reports at the time suggested patients were substituting emergency department (ED) visits when in-person consultations were unavailable, leading to additional strain on already stretched ED resources. A research paper published in CMA ..read more

Migraine is a common condition that affects around 12% of adults, with a higher prevalence in women (18%) than men (6%). Global burden of disease estimates in 2019 found migraine to be the leading cause of disability in women aged 15-49 years and the second leading cause of disability overall.  In this article, Drs. Mojole and Bigham interview three authors of two review articles on the topic published in CMAJ, which focus on diagnosis, acute treatment and prevention of migraine.  Dr. Velina Tzankova is a neurology resident at the University of Toronto; Dr. Werner Becker is a neurolo ..read more

Diagnosing long COVID, or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), is challenging for clinicians. With up to 200 possible symptoms, heterogeneous presentations and no definitive diagnostic test, the diagnosis is a clinical one. In this episode, Dr. Kieran Quinn, a general internist and palliative care physician at Mount Sinai and Bridgepoint Hospitals in Toronto, emphasizes the importance of judicious diagnostic testing in patients with suspected long COVID. Dr. Quinn, who is co-author on three “Five Things to Know…” articles published in CMAJ that cover diagnosing, assessing and t ..read more

On this special episode, Drs. Blair Bigham and Mojola Omole interview CMAJ editor-in-chief, Dr. Kirsten Patrick, and executive editor, Dr. James Maskalyk. They talk about the journal's accomplishments over the past year and some of the challenges related to its increased focus on social determinants of health and equity. In the year ahead, Drs. Patrick and Maskalyk say the journal will focus on exploring topics related to access to care, and particularly encourage the submission of articles that discuss bold solutions that can bring about wide-reaching systemic change ..read more

A popular theory to explain the crisis in primary care in Canada is that newly graduating physicians simply do not see as many patients as previous generations. But recently published research has thoroughly debunked that myth. David Rudoler is the lead author of research published in CMAJ entitled Changes over time in patient visits and continuity of care among graduating cohorts of family physicians in 4 Canadian provinces that looked at the number of patient contacts for physicians at all career stages. He and his co-authors found no generational differences in family physician practice. O ..read more

A popular theory to explain the crisis in primary care in Canada is that newly graduating physicians simply do not see as many patients as previous generations. But recently published research has thoroughly debunked that myth. David Rudoler is the lead author of research published in CMAJ entitled Changes over time in patient visits and continuity of care among graduating cohorts of family physicians in 4 Canadian provinces that looked at the number of patient contacts for physicians at all career stages. He and his co-authors found no generational differences in family physician practice. O ..read more

An “old wives’ tale” has persisted in the treatment of anterior epistaxis. A practice article in CMAJ entitled, "Five things to know about anterior epistaxis" discusses what many are doing wrong and the proper way to treat anterior epistaxis. On this episode, co-author and rhinologist Dr. Leigh Sowerby elaborates on the causes and the full suite of options for treating this common cause for emergency department visits. Next, Drs. Bigham and Omole speak with Dr. Michelle Sholzberg, a hematologist and medical director of the coagulation laboratory at St. Michael's Hospital about how to determine ..read more

A practice article in CMAJ presents 8 images of monkeypox mucocutaneous lesions presenting in Canadian patients from May to July 2022.  The images show a spectrum of common lesions seen in patients with human monkeypox during the 2022 outbreak in non-endemic countries.  On this episode, Dr. Sharon Sukhdeo and Dr. Darrell Tan, two co-authors of the article discuss their intention that the image atlas be a necessary corrective to the proliferation of images from endemic countries seen early in the outbreak that primarily featured Black patients, often children.  Host Dr. Mojola ..read more