Fibromyalgia is not a trash can diagnosis [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. “How would you like to see your career slip away from you as you gradually become less and less able to sleep, to rest, to feel awake, to feel like your memory is failing you, to be taking pills every night on call because your legs ache so badly,
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Fibromyalgia is not a trash can diagnosis [PODCAST] originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - July 21, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: The Podcast by KevinMD Tags: Podcast Rheumatology Source Type: blogs
TORdx LUNG Test for Donor Lung Assessment: Interview with Eric Brouwer, Chief Scientific Officer at SQI Diagnostics
SQI Diagnostics, a medtech company based in Canada, is developing the TORdx LUNG Test. The technology is intended to assist clinicians in assessing donor lungs in their suitability for transplantation. At present, clinicians typically assess donor lungs using qualitative variables, such as donor health and lung size. One of the most important factors, lung inflammation, is difficult to assess, and clinicians will often play it safe and reject an organ if there is any doubt about it.
This means that lungs that might actually be suitable for transplantation are often rejected, further compounding the lack of donor organs....
Source: Medgadget - July 18, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Cardiac Surgery Exclusive Medicine Thoracic Surgery lung transplant sqi diagnostics Source Type: blogs
Celebrating Hospice and Palliative Medicine as the Fifth Largest Medical Subspecialty
by Christian Sinclair (@ctsinclair)We have entered a new age! Spread the word!Hospice and palliative medicine (HPM) is the fifth largest medical subspecialty!You may have sensed we have been climbing the ranks, but I bet you are still surprised. A close look at the fellowship match data from Dec 2021, shows that HPM has the fifth highest number of matched applicants, behind the big 4: Cardiovascular, Pulmonary and Critical Care, Hematology and Oncology, and Gastroenterology.When I share this good news with HPM colleagues, few put us anywhere near fifth.I did an informal poll on Twitter and less than half of respondents ran...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - July 11, 2022 Category: Palliative Care Tags: fellowship sinclair The profession Source Type: blogs
A Summer Roundup of Caregiver and Elder-Friendly Products, Services, and Technology
Photo image credit Jelly Drops (image of the inventor and his grandma!)
Dear Readers: It’s once again time for what has become a bi-annual look at products and services available to caregivers and/or older adults. I’m better acquainted with some of these products and services than others, and in some cases, I note that. Unless I say otherwise these mentions are not meant as an endorsement. Let’s go…
Clothing
CareZips: Joe & Bella is a new, modern adaptive-apparel brand for older adults. Their newest line is CareZips® by Joe & Bella, a patented easy-dressing pant for adults living with changes due to incontin...
Source: Minding Our Elders - July 10, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Helping vs. Enabling: How to Strike a Balance While Caregiving
Photo credit William Krause
Most family caregivers want what is best for their loved ones, and they’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen. Unfortunately, discerning what’s best for a senior is often easier said than done. In many cases, a loved one’s own desires (or demands) may actually jeopardize their health, erode their independence, and diminish their quality of life. Caregivers are left to walk this thin line between helping care recipients just enough and enabling bad behaviors that may come back to bite both parties. Care decisions are hard enough as it is, but how do you know when you’re enabling an ...
Source: Minding Our Elders - July 4, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Caregivers Can Troubleshoot and Empathize Without “Fixing” Everything
Photo credit Andrea Picquadio
Dear Carol: My mom, now 87, voluntarily moved to assisted living three years ago. She said at the time that she loved it. She continues to have chronic pain from rheumatoid arthritis and takes medications for the usual age-related issues. Even though she forgets things more often than she used to, she doesn’t seem to have dementia. Lately, though, she’s started complaining about being “forced” to move to “this place,” saying that she hates it. Of course, she likes some caregivers better than others, but nothing major seems to have changed regarding her care. I visit several t...
Source: Minding Our Elders - July 3, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
What a lifetime of gaslighting by other doctors feels like
If your shoulder were really injured, that maneuver would make you scream in pain,” he told me confidently. My husband and I recently established care with a new family doctor. I was frightened and scarred from a long history of medical gaslighting that still tightens my throat whenever I meet a new physician. Will thisRead more …What a lifetime of gaslighting by other doctors feels like originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - June 30, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/post-author/sarah-cohen-solomon-and-linda-bluestein" rel="tag" data-wpel-link="internal" > Sarah Cohen Solomon, MD and Linda Bluestein, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Conditions Rheumatology Source Type: blogs
TWiV 910: COVID-19 clinical update #119 with Dr. Daniel Griffin
In COVID-19 clinical update #119, Dr. Griffin reviews tixagevimab for infection prevention, ivermectin for outpatient infection treatment, symptom rebound after PAXLOVID treatment, bamlanivimab minimally impacting immune response to vaccination, in-hospital mortality among infection patients, residual viral antigen in patients following infection, usage of Casirvimab/Imdevimab and Remdesivir in infected patients with depleted B-cells, and rheumatic symptoms […] (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - June 18, 2022 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology antiviral coronavirus COVID-19 delta inflammation Long Covid monoclonal antibody pandemic SARS-CoV-2 vaccine vaccine booster variant of concern viruses Source Type: blogs
10 steps to create your direct specialty care clinic
Three years ago, I was a physician in the“traditional” medical system seeing 25 to 28 patients every day. I spent hours writing notes to provide proper documentation for the correct billing code. Often, my time was spent calling insurance companies to justify the appropriateness of my medical care. More and more hours were spentRead more …10 steps to create your direct specialty care clinic originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - June 17, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/post-author/diana-girnita" rel="tag" data-wpel-link="internal" > Diana M. Girnita, MD, PhD < /a > < /span > Tags: Physician Rheumatology Source Type: blogs
Is this Myo-pericarditis? Or OMI with subsequent pericarditis? Does the angiogram always explain the ECG findings?
Conclusion: Although at 1st glance, it looked like the ECG picture in Figure-1 might be suggestive of acute pericarditis — on further inspection, there are significant ECG features against the diagnosis of acute uncomplicated pericarditis.As per the superb discussion above by Dr. Smith — evolution of this case (including the ECG picture on serial tracings) — are consistent with what probably occurred in today ' s case, namely the combination of acute OMI from LCx occlusion, followed by development of post-infarction regional per...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - June 11, 2022 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs
Fibromyalgia is not a trash can diagnosis
Yet again, while reading an article about fibromyalgia, I was hit with another pejorative term in the first few lines. The authors describe the usual characteristics of fibromyalgia and then say,“and a high level of catastrophizing related to pain.” If you do a Google search for“catastrophizing,” it tells you that it is“aRead more …Fibromyalgia is not a trash can diagnosis originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - June 2, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/post-author/margaret-macdonald" rel="tag" data-wpel-link="internal" > Margaret Macdonald, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Conditions Rheumatology Source Type: blogs
Shortening the diagnostic odyssey for hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: a primer for the primary care physician
Joint pain, nausea, dizziness, bloating, palpitations, urticaria, headache, and fatigue. Surely this must be a list of the chief concerns for each of your first eight patients for the day. No, these chief concerns all belong to your very first patient of the day. A new patient is scheduled for a 20-minute slot. How willRead more …Shortening the diagnostic odyssey for hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: a primer for the primary care physician originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - May 27, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/post-author/linda-bluestein" rel="tag" data-wpel-link="internal" > Linda Bluestein, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Conditions Rheumatology Source Type: blogs
Tips on How to Talk to the Doctor About Your Older Parent or Spouse
Photo credit: Rodnae Productions
A frequent problem expressed among family caregivers is that their aging loved ones aren’t honest with their doctors. At home, they may gripe about intense pain, struggle to complete activities of daily living (ADLs) independently, or exhibit memory problems that lead to unfair accusations, but the moment they sit down in a doctor’s office, a change occurs. Like an actor on stage, the patient becomes animated and charming and has no complaints to report to their physician. What gives?
A Caregiver’s Experience With “Showtiming”: My mom was a supreme example. She fell ...
Source: Minding Our Elders - May 27, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
When One Parent Dies the Other Often Needs a Long-Term Care Plan
Photo credit Vlada Karpovich
Long-term marriages generally evolve into a support system so efficient that even adult children hardly notice changes in their parents. If Dad's hearing is poor, Mom becomes his ears. If Mom's arthritis is bad, Dad becomes her muscle. If one of them has memory loss, the other fills in the gaps so smoothly that it's barely noticeable to onlookers. Then, either Mom or Dad dies. The person remaining suddenly is more frail and needy than anyone would have expected. The surviving spouse is suffering the loss of their life partner, a shock from which they may never completely recover. Also, th...
Source: Minding Our Elders - May 26, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
The journey to diagnosing a mysterious illness
As a clinician, you likely do not have the luxury of playing“Dr. House.” Patients enter your exam room, long story in hand, with a litany of mysterious symptoms involving every bodily system, and you were already massively overbooked. Your patient leaves the encounter no closer to answers despite your best attempts which involved youRead more …The journey to diagnosing a mysterious illness originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - May 19, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/post-author/linda-bluestein-and-lauren-vasko" rel="tag" data-wpel-link="internal" > Linda Bluestein, MD and Lauren Vasko < /a > < /span > Tags: Conditions Rheumatology Source Type: blogs
