title: Surveying the medical literature: five notable articles in general internal medicine from 2008 and 2009.
abstract: Given the vast and growing volume of medical literature, it is essential to develop reliable strategies for identifying articles of importance and relevance. Here, we summarize 5 notable articles for general internal medicine published in 2008 and 2009. Clinical vignettes are presented to illustrate situations in which each study might apply, and each summary ends with a description of how a physician might use the study findings to resolve the vignette case. Finally, we describe a surveillance strategy that physicians can use to identify articles important to their own practices.
authors.forename: Alexander A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: William A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Ghali