HIV and ID Observations

February 26th, 2026

Some Ruminations on CROI — Still the Best HIV Meeting

CROI, which just wrapped up in Denver, is not like other scientific meetings — it’s quirky. Let me count the ways. There’s the name — the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections — coined in the early 1990s, when fax machines were cutting-edge technology. It’s pronounced to rhyme with boy, by the way. No one […]

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February 17th, 2026

Two Things Can Be True: The FDA Process Was Inconsistent, and the mRNA Vaccine Data Were Disappointing

Any time I write about vaccines, especially mRNA vaccines, things get dicey. Any negative comments might fuel attacks from one wing that I’m trying to fuel vaccine doubt, or (from another), hostility toward corporate innovation and profits. And of course, there’s a small but vocal minority that believes that all vaccines are inherently harmful; it’s […]

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February 12th, 2026

Sometimes You Just Need to Get Input from a Real Human Being

If you’re not using AI in clinical medicine yet, allow me to strongly recommend you start — soon. Like now. It’s a phenomenal tool for looking things up quickly. I’d call it the future of information retrieval, but that future has already arrived. OpenEvidence is currently leading the pack, at least around here. Doximity is […]

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February 4th, 2026

Mystifying Abbreviations — Infectious Diseases Edition

Motivated by an attending stint on the general medical service, I once wrote a post here called, “Mystifying Abbreviations on Medical Rounds.” It proved to be quite popular, so I’m pleased to inform you that saying “RUQUS” (right upper quality ultrasound) and “G and G” (glucan and galactomannan) have truly entered the vernacular, especially here […]

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