An expensive treatment may be a victim of its own widening use
Medical treatment has knocked down tumors in 6-year-old Easton Daniels ’ brain, but the drug used also wiped out his immune system. To bolster his immune function and help keep him healthy, he has visited a hospital for intravenous infusions of immune globulin about every month for the past year and a half. But in early […]Find jobs at  Careers by KevinMD.com.  Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.  Learn more. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - October 1, 2019 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/julie-appleby" rel="tag" > Julie Appleby < /a > < /span > Tags: Meds Medications Oncology/Hematology Source Type: blogs

Wine Glass in the Foot: A Case Study
​Emergency department providers welcome the weird, the wild, the wonderful, and the unexpected. Routine chest pain workups and negative abdominal CTs occasionally bore us. Last summer we had the pleasure of meeting a man who was a line cook at a local restaurant. He came via ambulance for a foreign body in his foot. What we saw was unanticipated—he arrived with half a wine glass lodged in the sole of his foot.​ The stemware was lodged in the patient's foot, going through his shoe and sock. Photos by Martha Roberts.The patient was laughing and not in much pain. He said he had a high pain tolerance and could barel...
Source: The Procedural Pause - October 2, 2017 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs

LITFL Review 283
LITFL • Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog LITFL • Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog - Emergency medicine and critical care medical education blog Welcome to the 283rd 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 chunk of FOAM. The Most Fair Dinkum Ripper Beauts of the Week An incredible and eye opening review of his visit to meet the team at Mitchell’s Plains in...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - May 21, 2017 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Anand Swaminathan Tags: LITFL review LITFL R/V Source Type: blogs

LITFL Review 283
LITFL: Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog LITFL: Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog - Emergency medicine and critical care medical education blog Welcome to the 283rd 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 chunk of FOAM. The Most Fair Dinkum Ripper Beauts of the Week An incredible and eye opening review of his visit to meet the team at Mitchell’s Plains in South...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - May 21, 2017 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Anand Swaminathan Tags: LITFL review Source Type: blogs

A Weak Admission
​A 64-year old woman presented to the emergency department with nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, dry eyes, and difficulty keeping her eyes open. She admitted to eating mandarin oranges out of a can the night before, and at that time she thought they "tasted funny" but did not think much of it.​The next morning she noticed she was having trouble opening her eyes and that her mouth was dry. She looked inside the can of oranges and saw it was discolored.Her presenting vital signs were unremarkable. The patient was alert and awake. She had ptosis bilaterally, with mydriatic pupils unresponsive to light. The patient h...
Source: The Tox Cave - November 1, 2016 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs

The Insanity of the Hepatitis B Vaccination
Conclusions The hepatitis B vaccination program targeting newborns and infants does NOT make sense. The vaccination itself has not proven to be effective in preventing hepatitis B. There is very little risk of children becoming infected with hepatitis B. Hepatitis B is a disease that is not highly infectious and tends to affect adults in high risk groups. The course of the disease is usually self-limiting with lifelong immunity acquired. In contrast, many serious health consequences have resulted from the hepatitis B vaccination, including permanent disability and death.   References http://www.nvic.org/nvic-archives...
Source: vactruth.com - July 8, 2016 Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Michelle Goldstein Tags: Logical Michelle Goldstein Top Stories adverse reactions Hepatitis B vaccine truth about vaccines Source Type: blogs

Kickback Concerns Shouldn't Prohibit Manufacturers From Offering Assistance For Drugs Without Cheaper Alternatives
Infusion Association Asks For Kickback Safe Harbor For Expensive Biologics Drug manufacturers routinely offer copayment coupons to reduce or eliminate the cost of patients' out-of-pocket payment for certain drugs. This financial assistance can be especially beneficial for patients who require expensive biologic therapies with large co-pays. Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) released a report that such coupons may run afoul of the federal anti-kickback statute if they encourage the purchase of drugs paid for by government funded programs. Essential...
Source: Policy and Medicine - April 24, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs

MKSAP: 23-year-old woman with stiffness and achiness of the hands
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 23-year-old woman is evaluated for a 1-year history of morning stiffness and achiness of the hands as well as Raynaud phenomenon. Two months ago, she experienced a sun-induced rash on the chest and back and patches of discoloration on the hands. On physical examination, temperature is 36.4 °C (97.5 °F), blood pressure is 106/66 mm Hg, pulse rate is 60/min, and respiration rate is 16/min. The lungs are clear. Erythematous, violaceous, clumped papules over the extensor surfaces of the elbows, metacarpophalange...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 28, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Conditions Rheumatology Source Type: blogs

MKSAP: 35-year-old woman with new-onset thrombocytopenia
A 35-year-old woman is evaluated for new-onset thrombocytopenia. She is gravida 1 at 36 weeks’ gestation. Her pregnancy has been otherwise uncomplicated. She takes only a prenatal vitamin. On physical examination, temperature is normal, blood pressure is 110/65 mm Hg, pulse rate is 110/min, and respiration rate is 22/min. There are no ecchymoses or petechiae. Abdominal examination discloses no right upper quadrant pain. She has a gravid uterus. Neurologic examination is normal, and there is no peripheral edema. Laboratory studies: Hematocrit 33% Hemoglobin 11.0 g/dL (110 g/L) Leukocyte count 9500/µL (9.5 × 1...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - June 28, 2014 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Conditions OB/GYN Source Type: blogs

Voices for Vaccines: 11 Facts Show How it’s a Propaganda Ploy for Emory University, CDC, and Big Pharma
Conclusion The Voices for Vaccines program at the Task Force for Global Health may be administered by a few mothers, but they are not the ones pulling the strings behind the scenes. The information in this article reveals who keeps the lights on for the website and the Task Force organization as a whole. Furthermore, the past, present and future relationships with the Centers for Disease Control, Emory University, and pharmaceutical companies should immediately raise a red flag for any parent. Especially when the message calls for you to blindly trust doctors injecting dangerous chemicals into your child. If you want to ta...
Source: vactruth.com - February 19, 2014 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Jeffry John Aufderheide Tags: Jeffry John Aufderheide Top Stories Alan Hinman Deborah Wexler Emory University Paul Offit Stanley Plotkin Task Force for Global Health U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Voices for Vaccines Source Type: blogs

Drug Costs In Hospitals & Clinics To Rise 4 Percent
The cost of medications administered by clinics and hospitals are expected to rise by as much as 4 percent this year, which is less than in previous years, thanks to the increasing availabitily of lower-cost generics, according to a study in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. Specifically, medication expenditures are projected to rise between 1 percent and 3 percent across all clinics and hospitals not run by the federal government. But medication costs are forecast to increase between 2 percent and 4 percent in clinics, while there will be a 1.5 percent gain ih hosptials. “In the aggregate, drug expenditur...
Source: Pharmalot - February 19, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Affordable Care Act Contraceptives Epogen Lovenox Procrit Prolia Remiicade Rituxan Xgeva Source Type: blogs