A story of persistence in the face of death
As Hannah’s granddaughter clutched at her skeletal fingers, the blanket fell to the side revealing the faded serial numbers on her forearm. The family gathered, yet again, to say goodbye. This time her acrid breath had lost humidity, her respirations dry and raspy, the extremities mottled with a bluish tinge.
Death had visited the neighborhood before. Lounged in the parlor. Nibbled on crackers and tea. But letting go was not so easy. Sure the signs were there. There were the bouts of unconsciousness lasting days. The hours of irregular breathing with long gaps. The clutching of chest and recitation of prayer. All of ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - July 10, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/jordan-grumet" rel="tag" > Jordan Grumet, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Hospital-Based Medicine Palliative Care Source Type: blogs
Arms Sales: Pouring Gas on the Fires of Conflict
Do arms sales cause war? Or do wars cause arms sales? Critics of arms salesoften argue that selling weapons abroad fuels conflict. And indeed, one can point to one or more sides using American weapons in many recent conflicts including Syria, Yemen, and Iraq. Skeptics argue,on the other hand, that weapons don ’t start the fire and that conflicts would arise whether or arms exporters like the United States sell weapons abroad.The debate has important implications for foreign policy. If selling or transferring weapons abroad makes conflict more likely, or intensifies conflicts already in process, then the United States sho...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 2, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: A. Trevor Thrall Source Type: blogs
The cruel sham that is federal right-to-try has passed. Let patients beware!
“Right-to-try” laws are a cruel sham that purport to allow terminally ill patients access to promising experimental drugs. In reality, they strip away many protections and leave vulnerable patients on their own. After four years and a number of toothless state laws, a federal version of “right-to-try” has passed Congress and is poised to become law. Once President Trump signs the bill this week, this federal version of “right-to-try” will leave terminally ill patients on their own and will likely be the first step in returning the FDA to its pre-thalidomide state, in which it only required evidence of safety, n...
Source: Respectful Insolence - May 29, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Bad science Bioethics Medicine Politics Popular culture Quackery ALEC Donald Trump fda featured Food and Drug Administration Frank Mongiello Goldwater Institute Jordan McLinn Koch brothers libertarian Matthew Bellina Mike Source Type: blogs
God as con artist
For some reason we don ' t hear much preaching about Genesis 15, even though it seems pretty juicy. Here it is.After this, the word of theLord came to Abram in a vision:“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. ”2 But Abram said, “SovereignLord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus? ”3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”4 Then the word of theLord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - May 13, 2018 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
This medical student wants to be a radiologist. Does the field have a future?
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is a term that is often associated with robots or computers that “learn” by having material introduced to them. Different people have different reactions to the idea of AI, especially with its potential use in medicine. AI can perform many tasks at the same time and in the same way producing results that will always be precise, but not necessarily accurate. This is relevant to fields like diagnostic radiology, where the importance of recognition of pathology on imaging is essential to providing a diagnosis. There is an art to identifying pathologies, variants and “normal” reads, so t...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - May 10, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/lewis-jordan" rel="tag" > Lewis Jordan < /a > Tags: Education Radiology Source Type: blogs
