January 28th, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Research
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It has been a while since I’ve had a patient with postoperative alcohol withdrawal. I can still recall my first exposure to this problem as a 3rd year medical student at the Veteran’s Hospital. It was my first clinical rotation – surgery service at the VA.
Browsing the CME articles on the JAMA website, I came across the article (full reference below): Improved Outcomes in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer Using a Standardized Care Protocol for Postoperative Alcohol Withdrawal. For me it was a nice review of the problem with updates on current drug use/protocol.
Their protocol is based on three distinct clusters of symptoms characterize alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). Central nervous system excitation usually occurs within 12 to 48 hours after the last drink. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
January 28th, 2010 by Kimball Atwood IV, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
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A “Double Standard”?
Last week I had planned to write a comprehensive critique of a recent comment by Larry Dossey. He had posted it on Val Jones’s betterhealth website in response to Dr. Val’s essay, “The Decade’s Top 5 Threats To Science In Medicine,” originally posted here on SBM. Much of what Dr. Val had identified as the top threats involved recent dalliances, by government, medical schools, and the media, with the collection of implausible and mostly nonsensical health claims that advocates have dubbed “CAM.” As uncontroversial as Dr. Val’s assertions ought to have been—similar to suggesting that closing one’s eyes and “using the force” would be a threat to safe driving (even if some might quibble over the top threats to science in medicine)—Dr. Dossey demurred by distraction: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
January 27th, 2010 by Emergiblog in Better Health Network, True Stories
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Migraine.
Three days.
Out of pain medication and vomiting so you wouldn’t keep it down, anyway.
Agony.
Emergency department.
*****
You’re in luck – no one in triage!
A bed opens up, the nurse takes you straight to a room.
Gown, blanket.
And….
Two minutes later you send your cousin out to ask how long it will be until you get your pain med.
Excuse me? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Emergiblog*
January 27th, 2010 by StaceyButterfield in Better Health Network, News, Research
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This week’s obvious news consists of findings that you might have hoped weren’t true, but really you already knew they were.
First, sending your spouse off to war will make you unhappy, according to the New England Journal. “Among wives of soldiers deployed for up to 11 months, researchers found almost 3,500 more diagnoses of depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and other mental health issues than among wives who husbands stayed home,” reported HealthDay. Guess these women actually liked their husbands!
Then, it turns out that diabetics should not pig out, especially on salt, according to the Archives of Ophthalmology via HealthDay. A study of black patients with diabetes found that those who ate more calories and more sodium were more likely to develop diabetic retinopathy. “These results suggest that low caloric and sodium intakes in African-American individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus…might be part of dietary recommendations for this population,” the authors concluded. Shoot, now we will have throw out those “hot dog a day keeps the doctor away” guidelines.
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Hospitalist*
January 27th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, True Stories
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One of my favorite patients died last week.
My reaction to this was not quite what you would think: I smiled. No, I didn’t smile because of his death; I smiled because of his life. I smiled because I got to be a part of that life. His death wasn’t his tragic end, it was the exclamation point to his life.
I am around a lot of death – it’s one of the things that makes being a doctor different from other jobs. My goal with all of my patients is to keep them healthy, to relieve their pain, and to do my best to keep them alive. Ultimately, though, it’s a losing battle; 100% of them will eventually die. That’s why I don’t like statistics about how many people who die due to inadequate doctoring. Our job is to resist an irresistible force. We are standing up to the hurricane, the avalanche, the flood. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
