Conditions

By now, we're aware of the sobering predictions for this fall's spread of H1N1 influenza. But, as the Washington Post's Ezra Klein points out, our health system is ill-suited to deal with the situation:

It's simply too fractured to do anything different. Almost 50 million Americans have no insurance. Many more are underinsured. Many don't have a particular doctor or even medical center where they feel comfortable receiving care. Many are ...

Read more...

by Steve Perry, MD I recently read a post by Dr. Bob Sears which listed several “Vaccine Friendly Doctors” in Colorado and across the nation. As a pediatrician and vaccine advocate, I thought I’d be on this list. I am “vaccine-friendly doctor” who works with moms and dads to find the best health care plan for their babies. I read the information on both sides of the issue and weighed the science ...

Read more...

by Kristina Fiore, Staff Writer, MedPage Today Imaging procedures can expose patients to high cumulative doses of radiation, researchers say. In a large study, 193.8 people per 1,000 were exposed to moderate doses of radiation each year, while 18.6 per 1,000 were exposed to high doses, and 1.9 per 1,000 received very high doses, according to Reza Fazel, MD, of ...

Read more...

by Crystal Phend, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today A generation of new, more sensitive troponin assays has improved hospitals' ability to diagnose a heart attack to a point as early as the time of emergency department presentation, two separate studies affirmed. In one multicenter study, a sensitive troponin I assay had an early diagnostic accuracy of 96%, compared with conventional ...

Read more...

Fournier gangrene one of the nastiest infections you'll ever see. General surgeon Jeffery Parks details a case, complete with a vivid CT scan: Dr. Parks takes us behind the scenes in treating the condition, which requires rapid surgical debridement. "There's nothing fancy about this surgery," he writes. "You cut and debride until all the necrotic fat and skin and muscle ...

Read more...

Caster Semenya is the South African track and field star who recently was engulfed in controversy at the recently concluded World Track and Field Championships. Turns out, there are some who are questioning her gender, and subsequently, tests are being conducted to see if she is really a woman. It's not as cut and dry as it appears. Consider the possibility of
Read more...

Recent reports have said that Michael Jackson died from a propofol overdose. Is that really the case? Here's what happened, according to the published timeline.

-- At about 1:30 a.m., [Dr. Conrad] Murray gave Jackson 10 mg of Valium. -- At about 2 a.m., he injected Jackson with 2 mg of the anti-anxiety drug Ativan. -- At about 3 a.m., Murray then administered 2 mg of the sedative Versed. -- At about 5 ...

Read more...

by Matthew Bowdish, MD The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that approximately 180 Nigerian children have become paralyzed by polio as a result of widespread vaccination efforts in Africa’s most populous country. The outbreak is from the use of an oral polio vaccine (OPV) that contains a live-attenuated form of the poliovirus. OPV was initially developed by Albert Sabin in the 1950s. A live-attenuated poliovirus vaccine is ingested and stimulates ...

Read more...

Most prefer the bottom line, sparing them the raw data. Primary care physician Rob Lamberts asks that exact question, and reprints sample reports of lab tests and an echocardiogram, demonstrating the wealth of information they contain. So, borrowing this image from Dr. Rob, I'm not sure how useful something like this would be to patients (sorry for the small type, but you get the idea): Read more...