Harvard Medical School, Like the Tobacco Companies of Old, Unwilling to Admit that Smoking is More Harmful than Non-Tobacco Products
It used to be the tobacco industry that refused to acknowledge that its products were any more hazardous than non-tobacco consumer products, but today it is Harvard Medical School (HMS) which is refusing to make that acknowledgment.The Rest of the Story In a Harvard Health Publication from HMS, the Medical School refuses to admit that cigarette smoking is any more hazardous than vaping, which involves no tobacco and no combustion and has been demonstrated to greatly improve the health of smokers who make the switch.The newsletter asks the question "Are e-cigarettes safer than regular cigarettes? and then goes on to talk on...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 14, 2015 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs
LITFL Review 180
Welcome to the 180th LITFL Review. Your regular and reliable source for the highest highlights, sneakiest sneak peeks and loudest shout-outs from the webbed world of emergency medicine and critical care. Each week the LITFL team casts the spotlight on the blogosphere’s best and brightest and deliver a bite-sized chuck of FOAM.The Most Fair Dinkum Ripper Beauts of the WeekBilly Mallon discusses the role of ketamine in trauma as only Billy Mallon can, via the Essentials of Emergency Medicine best lectures of 2014. [AS] The Best of #FOAMed Emergency MedicineA great follow up to the Cricothyrotomy podcast last week ...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - May 3, 2015 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Marjorie Lazoff, MD Tags: Education LITFL review Source Type: blogs
New Study Provides Evidence that Switching to E-Cigarettes Can Enhance Smoking Cessation, Even for Dual Users
Electronic cigarette opponents have long argued that dual use offers no health benefits to smokers. Dual use refers to the use of both e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes. While clinical trials show that a small proportion of electronic cigarette users are able to quit completely, a quite large proportion of these smokers are able to substantially reduce their cigarette consumption. Anti-smoking advocates have widely argued that this reduction in consumption offers no health benefits. I have already debunked that myth by showing that substantial reductions in cigarette consumption can produce dramatic improvements in respi...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - March 11, 2015 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs
LITFL Review 171
Welcome to the 171th LITFL Review. Your regular and reliable source for the highest highlights, sneakiest sneak peeks and loudest shout-outs from the webbed world of emergency medicine and critical care. Each week the LITFL team casts the spotlight on the blogosphere’s best and brightest and deliver a bite-sized chuck of FOAM.The Most Fair Dinkum Ripper Beauts of the WeekInterested in Free Ultrasound Ebooks? Not sure where to find them? Kasia Hampton from Sonokids has an entire list for you right here! [SO]The Best of #FOAMed Emergency MedicineShould we treat all sore throats with antibiotics in fear of Fusobacterium...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - March 1, 2015 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Marjorie Lazoff, MD Tags: Education LITFL review Source Type: blogs
Tesla Motors Receives 5-Star Suicide Safety Rating From American Psychiatric Association.
Arlington, VA - Premium car company Tesla Motors, maker of the all electric and emission free Model S luxury vehicle, proudly accepted the coveted 5-Star Suicide Safety rating on Friday from the American Psychiatric Association's Suicide Prevention Board (APASPB). During over 40 years of independent suicide testing, the APASPB has never given out a 5-Star rating to a car company because of the exceptionally high risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and general risk of death experienced during closed garage suicide field testing."We are thrilled to be recognized by the APA as a leading manufacturer of safe suicide techno...
Source: The Happy Hospitalist - February 8, 2015 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Tamer Mahrous Source Type: blogs
Eyebrow Laceration and Repair, If You Dare!
Picture this: It’s Dec. 31 at 11:59 p.m. You’re spending your designated holiday working the overnight. You’re eating some leftover fruitcake in the nurse’s lounge, and you see the following complaint sign into triage: “Drunk/face pain.”
This could mean just about anything when ethanol is on board. You lift your head just slightly over the computer screen and see a young gentleman staggering in the hall. His chart is labeled “SLC” for “streamline care.” Everyone knows that intoxicated patients are never appropriate for your streamline care area, but you decide to take a chance, and hope this guy has ...
Source: The Procedural Pause - December 26, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Eyebrow Laceration and Repair, If You Dare!
Picture this: It’s Dec. 31 at 11:59 p.m. You’re spending your designated holiday working the overnight. You’re eating some leftover fruitcake in the nurse’s lounge, and you see the following complaint sign into triage: “Drunk/face pain.”
This could mean just about anything when ethanol is on board. You lift your head just slightly over the computer screen and see a young gentleman staggering in the hall. His chart is labeled “SLC” for “streamline care.” Everyone knows that intoxicated patients are never appropriate for your streamline care area, but you decide to take a chance, and hope this guy ha...
Source: The Procedural Pause - December 26, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Champions at Making Promises
Randal O'Toole
The White House has applauded Portland, Ore., and 15 other local governments as “climate action champions” for promising to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Perhaps the White House should have waited to see whether any of the communities managed to meet their goals before patting them on the back.
Portland’s “modest” goal is to reduce the city and Multnomah County emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050. Planners claim that, as of 2010, the city and county had reduced emissions by 6 percent from 1990 levels. However, this claim is full of hot air as all of the reductions are due ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - December 5, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Randal O'Toole Source Type: blogs
Carbon Monoxide and Cyanide Exposure in Smoke Inhalation
Smoke inhalation is an often lethal injury in house fires and is encountered by trauma surgeons who treat burn patients.
The mortality seen in smoke inhalation patients is sometimes greater than would be expected from the carboxyhemoglobin levels.
This is attributable, in part, to the synergistic effects of the methemoglobin resulting from the cyanide exposure – in addition to the carbon monoxide exposure.
Methemoglobin is not generally cardiovascularly significant at levels of 20 to 40%. However, couple with carboxyhemoglobin, the functional anemia can be life-threatening.
Methemoglobinemia can be treated using hype...
Source: Inside Surgery - December 2, 2014 Category: Surgery Authors: Editor Tags: Hyperbaric Oxygen carbon monoxide carboxyhemoglobin cyanide methemoglobin smoke inhalation Source Type: blogs
Shepherd's Apps for Teaching Physiology
Here are some computer-based activities that help students learn specific concepts of physiology produced by veteran professor Pete Shepherd. Dr. Shepherd has been developing over the course of many years based on his extensive teaching experience.A while back, I told you about the Life Science Teaching Resource Community and its archive of free teaching and learning resources. Here's an example of a collection of resources from that archive that your students can use to "play around with" physiological conditions to see what changes occur in the body as a result. All of them can either be used in the cla...
Source: The A and P Professor - November 11, 2014 Category: Physiology Authors: Kevin Patton Source Type: blogs
Pulse oximetry
is the measurement of oxygen saturation in arterial blood by using a non-invasive device, usually connected to one of the fingers. A wave form and percentage saturation display are usually given. Pulse oximeters are routinely used in operating rooms, emergency rooms and intensive care units. Outside of the medical setting, they can be used by mountain climbers and pilots of un-pressurized aircrafts to decide whether supplemental oxygen is needed at high altitudes. Usual normal range for pulse oximetry readings would be 95 to 99 percent. But in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, slightly lower levels ma...
Source: Cardiophile MD - September 1, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis MD, DM, FACC, FRCP Edin, FRCP London Tags: General Cardiology Source Type: blogs
Oxygen Concentration Curves
BSCC Physiology 014
Question:
Please draw the curve demonstrating the relationship between oxygen concentration and the partial pressure of Oxygen.
- Demonstrate how this changes in polycythaemic and anaemic individuals
- Explain what happens to a normal patient when 1/3 of the Haemoglobin is bound to carbon monoxide?
Examinee response
+ Show: Drawing and explanation in real-time video/audio
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Examiner explanation:
+ Show: Drawing and explanation in real-time video/audio
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Source: Life in the Fast Lane - August 14, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Deanne Chiu Tags: Basic Science Physiology anaemia Oxygen Concentration Curve polycythaemia Source Type: blogs
E-Cig Popularity on the Rise
As states continue to pass laws that restrict the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, this post from 2013 explores why they've become so popular with teens.
Good news! Cigarette smoking among American teenagers dropped to a record low in 2012.
Not so good news—Many teens are turning to a new alternative known as “e-cigarettes.”
What Are E-Cigarettes?
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) are battery-operated products designed to deliver nicotine, flavor, and other chemicals as vapor that a user inhales, without producing actual tobacco smoke.
A survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the us...
Source: NIDA Drugs and Health Blog - July 9, 2014 Category: Addiction Authors: Sara Bellum Source Type: blogs
High School Seniors Are Taking Up the Hookah
NIDA’s 2013 Monitoring the Future study reported that more than 20%—that’s 1 in 5—high school seniors have used a hookah to smoke tobacco. A hookah is a pipe that burns flavored tobacco and passes the smoke through water before it is inhaled. It can have one stem to smoke from, or several stems so multiple people can smoke from the same pipe.
Hookah bars, frequently found near college campuses, are gaining popularity with young adults. The exotic flavors of “shisha” (a mixture of tobacco, molasses, and fruit used in hookahs) appeal to teens. There are dozens of flavors, including strawberry, lime, and chocolate...
Source: NIDA Drugs and Health Blog - March 19, 2014 Category: Addiction Authors: Sara Bellum Source Type: blogs
Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Every year, over 400 Americans die of carbon monoxide poisoning. For Carbon Monoxide poisoning prevention tips in English and 16 other languages, go to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC): http://1.usa.gov/1ekr81r. (Source: BHIC)
Source: BHIC - March 10, 2014 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Kate Flewelling Tags: Emergency Preparedness Source Type: blogs
