The Article: von Mutius, E. and Drazen, J. (2012). A patient with asthma seeks medical advice in 1828, 1928, and 2012. The New England Journal of Medicine, 366: 827-834.

Big Idea: One thing is for sure – change is constant, even in medicine. In honor of The New England Journal of Medicine’s (NEJM) 200th anniversary, these authors present three fictitious accounts of how an asthma patient may have been treated – based on the literature of their day – in 1828, 1928, and 2012. Authors cited original NEJM articles to support the patient care of the time.

Survey Says! This article is not quite a research article. There are no “results” to pinpoint or report. However, authors present fictitious cases and time-appropriate information and references discussing asthma and care.

Quotable: “As a result of an intense interest in the condition, our understanding of its pathobiology, how to diagnose it, and — most important — how to treat it has evolved dramatically over the past two centuries” (p. 827).

So What?: This article diverges from my “typical” Friday weekly research article, but it is both highly entertaining and enlightening. (Did I mention it’s currently free?) The authors did an excellent job paying homage to the NEJM. This is a fun and easy read. It’s quite the coffee-table conversation starter. It’s worth the read. By the way, happy 200th, NEJM!!