Department of Medicine

J Pain Symptom Manage. 2026 Aug 19:S0885-3924(26)00954-1. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2026.08.011. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT CONTEXT: Hospice and palliative medicine (HPM) clinicians increasingly care for patients with serious illness and prolonged opioid exposure, yet often report limited training managing consequences like opioid misuse or opioid use disorder (OUD). Little is known about c…

Pregnancy (Hoboken). 2026 Mar 22;2(2):e70274. doi: 10.1002/pmf2.70274. eCollection 2026 Mar. ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: The emergence of xylazine, a veterinary alpha-2 and kappa opioid receptor agonist, as an adulterant in illicitly manufactured fentanyl has created new challenges and risks for pregnant people who use unregulated opioids. Xylazine test strips (XTSs) have been proposed as a harm reduc…

JAMA Intern Med. 2026 Aug 10. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2026.3788. Online ahead of print. NO ABSTRACT PMID:42574008 | DOI:10.1001/jamainternmed.2026.3788

Laura Mike, PhD, and Saroj Khadka are uncovering how Klebsiella pneumoniae senses its surroundings and adjusts its slimy exterior—a response that may influence where the pathogen thrives and how it causes disease.

Psychiatr Serv. 2026 Aug 6. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.20250157. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated health disparities and increased alcohol use and its health consequences. Although prepandemic research identified racial and ethnic disparities in receipt of alcohol use disorder treatment, few studies have described postpandemic disparities or have assessed the…

Following a national search, Behari has been appointed chief of the Division, where he has served as interim chief while advancing its clinical, research, and educational missions.

Flordeliza Villanueva, MD, discusses her pioneering work in ultrasound-guided therapeutics, her passion for translational cardiovascular research, and her commitment to training the next generation of physician-scientists.

John C. Byrd, MD, discusses the personal experiences that shaped his career, his vision for UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, and how expanding access, accelerating discovery, and strengthening clinical trials will transform cancer care in a recent UPMC Health Discovery Report Leadership Spotlight.

Am J Prev Med. 2026 Jul 30:108537. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2026.108537. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: A 2019 Medicare opioid safety policy limited initial opioid duration to 7 days and long-term daily dosage to 90 morphine milligram equivalence (MME). Because effective pain management may vary by rurality, this study examined whether the policy differentially affected opioid […]

J Pain. 2026 Jul 29:106313. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2026.106313. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT The aims of this study were to characterize symptom clusters and examine the influence of social determinants of health (SDOH) on symptom cluster membership among people receiving maintenance hemodialysis and experiencing chronic pain. This study utilized baseline data collected from the 643 patients […]

A JAMA study led by Timothy S. Anderson, MD, MAS, found that updated cardiovascular prevention guidelines would recommend statins for an additional 21.5 million Americans by emphasizing long-term risk.

Hosp Pediatr. 2026 Jul 17:e2025009094. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2025-009094. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF) is the predominant opioid in the US drug supply and is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality during pregnancy. While prenatal opioid exposure is an established risk factor for neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS), the differential …

Recognized for his commitment to trainee mentorship, Dr. Vajravelu will build on the fellowship program's longstanding tradition of excellence.

René Claxton, MD, MS, is leading a new program that uses AI-powered training and interdisciplinary collaboration to help clinicians build the communication skills that make care more compassionate, equitable, and patient-centered.

JAMA Netw Open. 2026 Jul 1;9(7):e2623280. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.23280. ABSTRACT IMPORTANCE: Buprenorphine-naloxone and extended-release (XR) naltrexone are both efficacious medications for opioid use disorder that reduce unregulated opioid use and improve opioid cravings and treatment retention. While prior comparative effectiveness studies demonstrated superiority of buprenorphine-na…

Subst Use Addctn J. 2026 Jul 10:29767342261463988. doi: 10.1177/29767342261463988. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Opioid treatment programs (OTPs), the only outpatient settings authorized to dispense methadone for opioid use disorder in the United States, often operate within compliance-focused frameworks that do not reflect the complex realities of substance use or the needs of many…

Gavin Arteel, PhD, and Melanie Königshoff, MD, PhD, led JCI Insight 's first-ever thematic issue, showcasing advances in fibrosis research from investigators around the world, including numerous contributions from the Department of Medicine.

BMJ Qual Saf. 2026 Jul 7:bmjqs-2025-019297. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2025-019297. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: Physician burnout is related to patient safety and quality of care. Female physicians face unique challenges which may contribute to higher physician task load (PTL). We investigated the association of gender and PTL, and if gender differences in PTL contribute to […]

Steinhauser will oversee Translational Science, Therapeutics and Physiology as part of the flagship cardiovascular journal's new editorial leadership team.

Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2026 Jul 3. doi: 10.1186/s13011-026-00746-1. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: The evolving U.S. drug market has fueled a public health crisis with rising drug use-associated morbidity and mortality, revealing a mismatch between current abstinence-based addiction care and the needs of people who use drugs (PWUD) to access evidence-based harm […]