Frederick Gandolfo, MD

Most patients want to get out of the hospital as soon as possible.  No one wants to sleep in a loud hospital room with constant interruptions for rounding, vital sign checks, blood work, etc.  Hospitals are a place for people when they’re sick, and if you aren’t sick you shouldn’t be in a hospital. I  … Read more

Occult gastrointestinal bleeding simply means that there is blood loss into the GI tract that cannot be seen with the naked eye (as opposed to overt GI bleeding, where blood is seen).  Typically, patients with occult GI bleeding have slowly progressive anemia due to slow chronic blood loss.  There are a variety of causes of  … Read more

These are “kissing” duodenal ulcers.  The ulcers are on opposite walls of the duodenal bulb, and are basically touching each other, hence the “kissing” description.  If you notice, the larger ulcer on the right has a flat dark spot in the middle…this is the former site of the large artery that was actively bleeding 24  … Read more

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) has become the most commonly hospital acquired infection in the US, and also occasionally causes infection in people in the community without any traditional risk factors. C. difficile infects the colon and causes inflammation called colitis. The symptoms are usually diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, and sometimes nausea and vomiting. C. difficile is treated with specific  … Read more

“Are you still taking lasix?” I asked the patient. He was new to the office, here for a routine post-hospital follow up visit after recently being admitted for decompensated cirrhosis with ascites and fluid overload. His dose of lasix was resumed prior to discharge, and he was supposed to be taking 80 mg daily. “I  … Read more

Coffee is enjoyed all over the world, perhaps more than any other substance except for water and air.  We all are familiar with the stimulant effects of coffee, and independent of this effect caffeine is also a weak mood-elevating substance.  There are many social rituals that revolve around coffee too. In fact, this blog probably  … Read more