January 30th, 2010 by Berci in Better Health Network, News
Tags: Andrew Wakefield, Autism, Britain, Fake, Falsified Data, Lawsuit, MMR, Pharmaceutical Industry, Pseudoscience, Trial Lawyers, Vaccine, Vaccine Manufacturers
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You may have heard about Andrew Wakefield who tried to find a link between MMR vaccines and autism. He has published several papers. Now it turns out he acted unethically in carrying out his research according to a medical regulator.
Doctor Andrew Wakefield’s 1998 study, published in the Lancet medical journal, said there might be a connection between the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) injection and autism.
The suggestion horrified parents and led to a slump in the number of youngsters getting the jab, as well as triggering heated debate in medical circles.
In a ruling Thursday, the General Medical Council attacked Wakefield for “unethical” research methods and for showing a “callous disregard” for the youngsters as he carried out tests.
This included taking blood samples from children at his son’s birthday party for five-pound payments.
Why am I writing about it?
Because we all have to learn from this. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
January 29th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, News
Tags: Anesthesiology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Fully Conscious, High Thoracic Epidural Anesthesia, Open Heart Surgery, Wide Awake
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Swaroup Anand, 23, from Bangalore, is fully conscious as he undergoes open-heart surgery. An epidural to the neck, administered at the city’s Wockhardt Hospital, has numbed his body. Dr Vivek Jawali pioneered the technique ten years ago and has recently released a tutorial on DVD which gives a step-by-step guide to the procedure – sorry, but you can only get a copy if you’re a surgeon or an anaesthetist.
Seems there would be considerable risk of respiratory compromise is the epidural went too high. But according to this video, over 400 cases have been performed, including a bypass with aortic valve replacement!
I don’t know… I’m not sure I could stomach the sound of the bone saw or, worse, if the surgeon said “Oh, crap…”
h/t: Slashdot
Reference:
Chakravarthy MR, Jawali V, Patil TA, Srinivasan KN, Manohar M, Khan J, Jayaprakash K, Das JK, Mahajan V. “High thoracic epidural anaesthesia as the sole anaesthetic technique for minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass in a high-risk patient.” Ann Card Anaesth. 2003 Jan;6(1):62-4.Musings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist.
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
January 29th, 2010 by Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: ABC, Abortion, Parenting, Pediatrics, Private Practice, Pro-Choice, Pro-Life, Story Line, teen pregnancy, teens
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Last night, ABC’s Private Practice took on the very challenging issue of teenage pregnancy in a story arc that began with last week’s show when 15 year old Maya announced to Addison that she was pregnant. The show well depicts the shock, the emotion and the difficulty of handling the pro-choice/pro-life discussion when a teenager is at the center of the discussion. It was a raw episode at times and in the end we are left with a 15 year old opting to keep her pregnancy. It’s tempting to criticize the writers for not focusing enough on Maya but, in truth, the show was more realistic than you may realize.
In the episode, Maya’s mom, Naomi, basically freaks out from the start. This pro-life mom first storms out of the room then tries to force an abortion onto her daughter. When that doesn’t work, she shows Maya a woman in labor only to have Maya entranced by the sight of a baby and determined to keep the pregnancy even more. The show concludes with Naomi leaving the building not talking to anyone, in tears. True to life? You bet. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Gwenn Is In*
January 29th, 2010 by Michael Sevilla, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Medical Education, Medical Students, Mentorship, Primary Care, Teaching
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“Dr. A, your student is here,” the front desk squawks through the intercom. “Sheesh,” I say to myself as I look at my full schedule of patients. Now, don’t get me wrong. I really enjoy teaching. Something I do know is that I could not do teaching full time. I thought about possibly joining a residency program or exploring the possibility of teaching full time at the med school. But, at this point in my career, patient care is still my passion. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Doctor Anonymous*
January 29th, 2010 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Better Health Network, Humor
Tags: Drug Seeker, Emergency Medicine, Jail, medicaid, Poem, Poetry, Veteran
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Classic presentation of the perfect patient
“What’s the problem? You’re the doctor,
why don’t you tell me!
I’m suffering an awful lot it must
be plain to see;
I’ve got back pain from that car wreck
back in nineteen sixty-five.
If I’d have worn my seat belt
there’s no way I’d be alive!
I’m out of my prescription and I
need help, I’m afraid.
I ain’t worried ‘bout the price, you see
I got my Medicaid. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
