In 2015, JAMA published results of a randomized clinical trial showing that antibiotic treatment for acute appendicitis was feasible. Doubters of the efficacy of antibiotics for treating appendicitis were concerned about what the long-term recurrence rate would be for those patients treated without surgery. The 5-year results of the study are now presented, showing that only about 40% of patients treated with antibiotics ultimately go on to have an appendectomy.

Read the article: Five-Year Follow-up of Antibiotic Therapy for Uncomplicated Acute Appendicitis in the APPAC Randomized Clinical Trial

There are new findings about another form of Borrelia: Borrelia miyamotoi. This form of Borrelia causes a relapsing fever but is spread in the same way that Lyme disease is. To help understand these new findings we spoke with Eugene Shapiro, MD, from the Department of Pediatrics and Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases at Yale.

In this JAMA Clinical Reviews podcast, we talk to Eugene D. Shapiro, MD, from Yale University School of Medicine for an update on Lyme disease, including new ideas about its diagnosis and treatment.

Syphilis is on the rise despite prior successful efforts to control it. Why is it coming back and what needs to be done about it? Dr Charles Hicks from UC San Diego explains. This podcast coincides with updated syphilis screening recommendations from the USPSTF that were published in the September 4, 2018 issue of JAMA.