December 22nd, 2009 by Nicholas Genes, M.D., Ph.D. in Better Health Network, News
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Today the NY Times printed a piece that pokes fun at, and highlights the dangers of, the new habit of texting-while-walking:
This summer, the American College of Emergency Room Physicians released a statement expressing concern about the issue, citing a Chicago doctor who was seeing a lot of face, chin, eye and mouth injuries among young people who reported texting and tumbling.
Hmm… I’m a member of ACEP, but I’ve never heard of ACERP. Is it some rival organization of emergency physicians whose practice is confined to four walls? Or, in its rush to condemn new technologies that enable communication on-the-go, has the New York Times abandoned the traditional practices of editing and fact-checking? 
*This blog post was originally published at Blogborygmi*
December 17th, 2009 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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Christian Vaillancourt, MD and his colleagues recently published an article in the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine (2009;54:663-671) entitled “The Out-of-Hospital Validation of the Canadian C-Spine Rule by Paramedics.” This rule was originally developed for “clinical clearance” (e.g., without the use of x-rays) of persons with possible cervical spine fracture (broken neck) in alert and stable trauma patients by qualified persons (generally, emergency physicians) in a health care setting (such as an emergency department). This particular study found that paramedics can apply the Canadian C-Spine Rule reliably, without missing important cervical spine injuries.
The Rule, properly applied to an awake and alert injured person for which there is a concern for a cervical spine injury, provides the following direction:
1. If a person has a high-risk factor (age greater than or equal to 65 years; a dangerous mechanism of injury [a fall from an elevation greater than or equal to 3 feet; fall down 5 or more stairs; direct blow to top of head, such as a diving board accident; motor vehicle accident characterized by high speed, rollover or passenger ejection; motorized recreational vehicle accident; bicycle collision]; or numbness/tingling in an arm or leg), then neck immobilization and x-rays are indicated. Read more »
This post, Canadian C-Spine Rule: How To Know If A Neck Is Likely To Be Broken, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
December 15th, 2009 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, Humor, True Stories
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They’re not allowed to actually write “Hey Dummy, look here” on the x-ray report, but this is what the radiologists do when they want to make sure the idiots in the ER won’t miss the key finding on a film (in this case, a bit of glass from an automobile window):
The wonders of digital radiography allow this to appear on my computer screen. In the old days they did it with a grease pencil and a post-it note.
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
December 12th, 2009 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Humor
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So I went to eat my free daily lunch offering the other day in the doctors lounge when I noticed that a giant plate of enchiladas was just about empty. At 10:35 am. It’ not every day you get a free hot meal at Happy’s hospital, I would like to thank the Medicare National Bank for paying for my meals.
Generally,Happy’s doctors lounge offers a fine consistent assortment of cold salads, sandwich meats and several soup offerings. I found myself wondering exactly how much money I save every year by eating lunch in the doctors lounge. I remember Mrs Happy’s daily lunch bills when she worked in the hospital. It can add up pretty quick for nurses without the secret handshake to get in to the doctors lounge. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist Blog*
December 9th, 2009 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Opinion, True Stories
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Three of my children love to play the game ‘Life,’ where players choose college or career and are paid, take out loans, pay taxes, have families and all the rest as they navigate towards retirement. I especially love playing with them when they each become frantic, not for the highest income, but to finish the game with the most children. Along the way, my daughter is even naming her kids as the tiny blue and pink pegs fill up her little plastic car. (Talk about your parental validation!)
But after playing, then thinking back on my week at work, I fear that we could easily make a new game that was more familiar to many modern kids. I suppose we’d have to call it ‘The Game of Death,’ or maybe just ‘The Game of Pain.’ Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
