Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · 14d

100%

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · 16d

Ooh I've never considered that aspect of it before. That sounds deserving of its own story. I bet there's all kinds of therapies that just got grandfathered in

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · 16d

Impossible

2

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · 16d

Serum ammonia level determination in known cirrhosis

Universal secondary SBP prophylaxis (caveat, guidelines still recommend this)

Universal Abx prophylaxis after UGIB in cirrhosis (same caveat)

Is docusate high-stakes enough? I know it's true but its so blah

1 2

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · 18d

Lol

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · 20d

It feels like critical appraisal is about to have a bit of a moment... let's do it right, people!

2

Reposted by Rahul Ganatra

ProPublica @propublica.org · 26d

One insurance denial for Teressa's husband stated, “your newborn does not meet the criteria for coverage.”

“This is when I really start to think they’re just denying,” she recalled. “They’re not even looking. They’re just ‘deny, deny, deny.’”

➡️ Full story: www.propublica.org/article/ment...

Screenshot of article excerpt: Highmark refused to pay for the emergency medical treatment for the colon infection. In a bizarre twist, that denial letter listed her husband as the patient but made reference to the care of a newborn, not that of a 52-year-old man having a mental health crisis.

“It was determined,” the letter said, “that your newborn does not meet the criteria for coverage of an inpatient hospital admission.”

“This is when I really start to think they’re just denying,” she recalled. “They’re not even looking. They’re just ‘deny, deny, deny.’”

59 740 2K

Reposted by Rahul Ganatra

ProPublica @propublica.org · 28d

After a North Carolina man attempted suicide twice, his wife tried to get him help at an inpatient clinic.

But their insurance provider refused to cover the treatment, deeming it “not medically necessary.”

“Just Let Me Die”: After Insurance Repeatedly Denied a Couple’s Claims, One Psychiatrist Was Their Last Hope

After a North Carolina man attempted suicide twice, his wife tried to get him help at an inpatient clinic. But their insurance provider refused to cover the treatment, deeming it “not medically necess...

www.propublica.org

11 160 500

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · Sep 5

Thanks so much, Moises! We loved having you and I personally learned a lot!

1 2

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · Aug 29

Question for folks in medicine and science:

What are some of the best invited editorials you have ever read?

What made them so good?

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · Aug 28

Lots of gold in this list!

Swapnil Hiremath 🍁🇨🇦 @hswapnil.medsky.social · Aug 28

💯 this

Forget the introduction
Never read the discussion

Make up your own mind

www.nephjc.com/news/10steps

3

Reposted by Rahul Ganatra

thecurbsiders.bsky.social @thecurbsiders.bsky.social · Aug 26

🥞 #496 Hotcakes are here! 🩺
www.thecurbsiders.com

We’re diving into:
🌿 CBD-induced liver injury
💉 IV iron for HFrEF
🛏️ Bedtime BP meds
✋ Carpal Tunnel & RA
❤️ FDA approval of finerenone for HFpEF

✨ featuring @paulnwilliams.bsky.social @rbganatra.bsky.social, Dr. Nora Taranto, Dr. Matthew Watto

2 7

Reposted by Rahul Ganatra

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · Aug 25

“The study authors asked GPT 4o-mini to evaluate the quality of 217 papers. The tool didn’t mention in any of the reports that the papers being analyzed had been retracted or had validity issues.

In 190 cases, GPT described the papers as world leading, internationally excellent, or close to that”

ChatGPT tends to ignore retractions on scientific papers

Study finds the chatbot doesn’t acknowledge concerns with problematic studies

cen.acs.org

14 200 380

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · Aug 20

Congratulations, Joel!! Well-deserved!

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · Aug 12

I have definitely made arguments that, in retrospect, were not persuasive enough. Someone telling me why they weren't persuaded would be very useful!

(I thought that was a more constructive response than "I'm not convinced! 😂)

2

Reposted by Rahul Ganatra

Rachel Maddow @maddow.msnbc.com · Aug 10

"Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who oversees the CDC, did not make a statement the day of the shooting.

Late the following morning, more than 30 minutes after posting photos of fishing with his family, Kennedy posted condolences on his official X account..."

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/u...

After Years of Anger Directed at C.D.C., Shooting Manifests Worst Fears

www.nytimes.com

330 1.8K 5.3K

Reposted by Rahul Ganatra

John Ross @johnrossmd.bsky.social · Aug 7

Wild case of ChatGPT almost killing a guy by telling him to substitute sodium bromine for table salt (sodium chloride) #medsky www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/...

With improvement, he was able to report that he had recently noticed new-onset facial acne and cherry angiomas, fatigue, insomnia, subtle ataxia, and polydipsia, further suggesting bromism. He also shared that, after reading about the negative effects that sodium chloride, or table salt, has on one's health, he was surprised that he could only find literature related to reducing sodium from one's diet. Inspired by his history of studying nutrition in college, he decided to conduct a personal experiment to eliminate chloride from his diet. For 3 months, he had replaced sodium chloride with sodium bromide obtained from the internet after consultation with ChatGPT, in which he had read that chloride can be swapped with bromide, though likely for other purposes, such as cleaning.
Gradually, over the course of a 3-week admission, his chloride and anion gap normalized and psychotic symptoms improved. He was tapered off risperidone before discharge and remained stable off medication at a check-in 2 weeks after discharge. His bromide level ultimately was 1700 mg/L (21 mmol/L; reference range, 0.9 to 7.3 mg/L).

73 660 1.7K

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · Aug 5

I agree, it feels like we are living through a big shift in how people search for medical information.

I remember learning about using MeSH terms to search PubMed in medical school- how far we've come !

5

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · Aug 4

Fewer than 10% of published observational studies in this sample used DAGs to justify confounder selection.

This is a huge missed opportunity for both readers and researchers.

DAGs are invaluable in research design and critical appraisal.

Miranda So PharmD MPH (Epidemiology) @mirandapharmdmph.bsky.social · Aug 3

Enjoyed reading this review from @jamanetworkopen.com !
I have been providing an educational series for team members about reseach methods. We had lots of discussions about how to manage confounding in observational studies.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Confounder Selection in Observational Studies in High-Impact Journals

This cross-sectional study investigates whether there have been improvements over time in the methods reported for selecting confounders in observational studies published in the highest impact factor...

jamanetwork.com

1 1 4

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · Aug 3

“I can tell you personally, hot dogs are very slippery,” the fire chief said. “I did not know that.”

3

Reposted by Rahul Ganatra

Sam England @samjakeengland.bsky.social · Jul 24

Why do treehoppers look so weird?! Our latest paper, out this week in @pnas.org, suggests a perhaps unexpected reason - static electricity ⚡ We show that treehoppers can detect the electrostatic cues of predators and that their crazy shapes may boost their electrosensitivity! doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

Electroreception in treehoppers: How extreme morphologies can increase electrical sensitivity | PNAS

The link between form and function of an organism’s morphology is usually apparent or intuitive. However, some clades of organisms show remarkable ...

doi.org

13 170 410

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · Jul 23

Im not sure why bluesky has me permanently tuned in to the Paul Williams show, but I'm here for it!

1 1

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · Jul 23

I mean, you have identified two of (im guessing) many important causes for the observation that many fewer people prescribe buprenorphine than could - very valuable!

1

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · Jul 22

Though I also wonder what else, besides prejudice and stigma, contributes to this "not my area" problem. Intimidation? Inertia? Suspicion of new drugs?

1 1

Rahul Ganatra @rbganatra.bsky.social · Jul 22

Great point Paul. I am reminded of physicians I worked with over the years who never really made it a priority to learn about HIV medications.

2 1