Surveying the medical literature: five notable articles in general internal medicine from 2008 and 2009

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.