The end can be sudden in advanced cancer
It was after shoveling winter snow that Brett began to cough. It was a dry cough, a morning cough, a “smoker’s cough.” It persisted, grew deeper. Several weeks later, there was a particularly harsh cough and in the sink was a crimson blob. Frightened, he called his doctor.
For 71 years old, Brett looked healthy. His lung exam was clear and the cough was gone. A case of bronchitis? The chest x-ray said otherwise. At the top of his left lung, almost touching his shoulder, was a white shadow. His doctor, now also worried, ordered a CT scan. The scan showed a solid mass, about 3 inches in size. Brett was referred to ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 8, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: James C. Salwitz, MD Tags: Conditions Cancer Intensive care Source Type: blogs
DM / DNB Cardiology Entrance Mock Test 7
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Click on the 'Start' button to begin the mock test. After answering all questions, click on the 'Get Results' button to display your score and the explanations. There is no time limit for this mock test.
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Source: Cardiophile MD - January 23, 2016 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis, MD, DM, FACC, FRCP Edin, FRCP London Tags: Cardiology MCQ DM / DNB Cardiology Entrance Featured Source Type: blogs
Telehealth under alternative payment models
The post below originally ran on Milliman, Inc. on November 23.
Telehealth, as a modality of delivering healthcare services, is growing in terms of acceptance and adoption. There are a few key drivers for this dynamic: (1) consumer demand for convenient access to care; (2) availability of lower-cost telehealth technologies; (3) clinician comfort and willingness to provide certain services remotely; and (4) evolving payment models that seek to incentivize value and better population health.
Evolving payment models reflect the need to mitigate perverse incentives for the unnecessary healthcare utilization, waste, and ineffic...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - November 25, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Innovation Technology Source Type: blogs
A drug to treat a drug to treat a drug . . .
Stacy shared her story of wheat- and grain-free success after experiencing the all-too-common disaster called modern healthcare.
“I had been having gastrointestinal problems off and on for quite a while (a year or so). I would have days where I could barely function. Since I am a middle-aged woman, I kept thinking it was a combination of hormonal issues and ‘something I ate’–turns out it was! On June 22nd, everything came to a head and I was absolutely miserable. Long story short, the EGD showed I had gastritis and my scans and colonoscopy confirmed I had ileitis. The gastroenterologist put me on N...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - October 3, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Wheat Belly Lifestyle colitis gastritis gluten grains ileitis Source Type: blogs
Make the past medical history more meaningful
I listen to around 10 presentations each week. Students, interns and residents present patient histories and I often have to interrupt. My expectations are, apparently, different from how they were taught. Here are some of my pet peeves – please feel free to expand the list:
Diabetes – please tell me what type and how long the patient has had diabetes. A 1-year history of diabetes has very different implications than a 15-year history
CHF – systolic, diastolic, valve related – what is the ejection fraction – what is their current function
COPD – on home oxygen, emphysema or bronchitis...
Source: DB's Medical Rants - August 28, 2015 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: rcentor Tags: Medical Rants Source Type: blogs
Journal Commentary on Electronic Cigarettes is a Scientifically Unsupportable Hatchet Job and Fails to Disclose Author's Conflict of Interest
A commentary that appears in the current issue of the journal Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology demonizes electronic cigarettes, claiming that they are not necessarily safer than cigarettes, that they are a gateway to nicotine addiction and smoking, and that they are not helpful in smoking cessation.(See: Schraufnagel DE. Electronic cigarettes: vulnerability of youth. Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology 2015; 28(1):2-6.)The commentary argues that e-cigarettes are not necessarily safer than tobacco cigarettes:"Electronic cigarettes are widely promoted as a safe alternative to smoking and ...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - April 27, 2015 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs
Why don’t people ask their doctors more questions?
I do not get it. Day in and day out, I ask patients why they take a medicine. Many do not know. “My doctor put me on it,” goes the common response.
Take statin drugs, for example. I often ask a person why they are taking the drug? With rare exception, the person says it is to lower cholesterol.
That’s not the right answer–and herein lies much of the problem with preventative medicine. A statin drug does indeed lower cholesterol but its main purpose is to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke or death in the future. Cholesterol is just a number. It’s a surrogate that we can measure but itR...
Source: Dr John M - April 22, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr John Source Type: blogs
Am I ready for the Suvivorship Clinic?
Sunday, April 19, 2015current mood: feeling left behind So I went for my first one year checkup the other day. I have to admit I was a little more nervous than usual because, let’s face it, it had been a year and not the norm of 6 months. And of course the fear of having my blood drawn always scares me. What if they find something abnormal? What if my cancer is back? And then of course there is the fear of the blood draw itself, cause it usually takes lots of poking to finally find my vein. Yes, I’m one of those people who are crazy and say…Damn I miss my port! But Elio, who I have come to know and a...
Source: Sharing My Cancer Crapness - April 19, 2015 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: blogs
An astounding chronicle of a Wheat Belly transformation
Ann began messaging me back in October, 2014, when she told me that she was on a waiting list for gastric bypass. Ann’s chronicle covers the full range of the ways wheat can destroy health and the ways health is restored by removing it. She also learned that there is no such thing as a wheat or grain “indulgence.”
October 25, 2014
“Thank you for ending my years of pain and suffering and countless pills. I was ready to give up because I couldn’t take the pain anymore. After only a few days, I felt so much better and now after only a couple of months I am a new person. I went for a ride in my ...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - April 3, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Wheat Belly Success Stories gastric bypass grains joint pain Weight Loss Source Type: blogs
Antibiotic resistance – should we blame primary care or ICU physicians?
The title of the post poses a somewhat silly question. But I hope my explication clarifies the point.
Many readers know that I favor empiric antibiotic treatment for adolescent/young adult pharyngitis when the clinical signs and symptoms strongly suggest a bacterial infection. I favor narrow target antibiotics and only in the patients with Centor scores of 3 or 4 (and perhaps some 2s when the patient looks very ill). This would exclude over 50% of patients from antibiotics.
Most organisms already have developed resistance to penicillin, amoxicillin and first generation cephalosporins. Macrolides should not be used for ...
Source: DB's Medical Rants - March 3, 2015 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: rcentor Tags: Medical Rants Source Type: blogs
From kevinmd.com: About to be discharged from the hospital? Here's 3
things you should know.
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Source: Dr Portnay - January 21, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr Portnay Source Type: blogs
Patients Showing Appreciation
Everyone knows doctors are only in it for the money. Not.
The most rewarding thing about the practice of medicine is making a difference in the lives of our patients. Whether it’s saving a life with surgery in the middle of the night, handing over a newly-delivered baby, or just reassurance that it’s only a cold and not bronchitis and everything will be all right; those are the moments we all treasure.
Patients have many ways of showing their gratitude, almost all of which are warmly appreciated. From flowers in the dead of winter:
to homemade holiday cookies (even store-bought), or just the sincere “Tha...
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - January 7, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Medical Source Type: blogs
Illuminating Biology
This time of year, lights brighten our homes and add sparkle to our holidays. Year-round, scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health use light to illuminate important biological processes, from the inner workings of cells to the complex activity of the brain. Here’s a look at just a few of the ways new light-based tools have deepened our understanding of living systems and set the stage for future medical advances.
A new fluorescent probe shows viral RNA (red) in an RSV-infected cell. Credit: Eric Alonas and Philip Santangelo, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University.
Visualizing Viral Activity...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - December 29, 2014 Category: Research Authors: Srivalli Subbaramaiah Tags: Cell Biology Cool Images Source Type: blogs
Cardiology MCQ: Plastic bronchitis
Plastic bronchitis is seen after:
a) ASD repair
b) Arterial switch
c) Fontan repair
d) VSD closure
Correct answer: c) Fontan repair
Plastic bronchitis is characterised by marked obstruction of the large airways due to the formation of bronchial casts with rubber like consistency. Elevated central venous pressure leading to endobronchial lymph leakage is thought to be the mechanism of plastic bronchitis in post Fontan state. Plastic bronchitis can occur in those without heart disease as well. In those due to inflammatory lung disease, the casts are cellular (type I casts) while in those with underlying heart disease, the ca...
Source: Cardiophile MD - November 28, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis, MD, DM, FACC, FRCP Edin, FRCP London Tags: Cardiac Surgery Cardiology MCQ DM / DNB Cardiology Entrance Source Type: blogs
Cardiology MCQ 322: Plastic bronchitis
Plastic bronchitis is seen after:
a) ASD repair
b) Arterial switch
c) Fontan repair
d) VSD closure
["Click here for the answer with explanation", "Correct Answer:"]
c) Fontan repair
Plastic bronchitis is characterised by marked obstruction of the large airways due to the formation of bronchial casts with rubber like consistency. Elevated central venous pressure leading to endobronchial lymph leakage is thought to be the mechanism of plastic bronchitis in post Fontan state.
The post Cardiology MCQ 322: Plastic bronchitis appeared first on Cardiophile MD. (Source: Cardiophile MD)
Source: Cardiophile MD - September 26, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis MD, DM, FACC, FRCP Edin, FRCP London Tags: Cardiac Surgery Cardiology MCQ DM / DNB Cardiology Entrance Source Type: blogs
