Answer to Case 304
Answer: RotiferThank you to everyone who wrote in with suggested diagnoses for this case. Rotifers are microscopic animals found in fresh water sources worldwide including ponds, bird baths, and rain gutters. There are also a few species that live in saltwater. When alive, rotifers have a corona with cilia that sweep food into the found. In this particular case, the fixative used in the cytology preparation has likely caused the corona to retract so that it is not clearly visible. The rotifers are clearly a contaminate here - either of the original urine specimen (most likely) or in the reagen...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - May 18, 2014 Category: Pathologists Source Type: blogs
Study Shows No Acute Respiratory Health Effects from Active or Passive Vaping
A study published earlier this year in the journal Inhalation Toxicology reports that neither active nor passive vaping has any acute adverse effects on lung function among adult subjects. (See: Flouris AD, et al. Acute impact of active and passive electronic cigarette smoking on serum cotinine and lung function. Inhalation Toxicology 2013; 25(2): 91-101.)In the study, a sample of 15 smokers had their lung function measured before and after smoking, and before and after using an electronic cigarette. A sample of 15 nonsmokers had their lung function measured before and after exposure to secondhand smoke, and before and aft...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 21, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs
Imagine a doctor actually trying to save money for his patients
It has always been my assumption that my new practice will be as “digital” as possible. No, I am not going into urology, I am talking about computers.[Waiting for the chuckles to subside]For at least ten years, I’ve used a digital EKG and spirometer that integrated with our medical record system, taking the data and storing it as meaningful numbers, not just pictures of squiggly lines (which is how EKG’s and spirometry reports appear to most folks). Since this has been obvious from the early EMR days, the interfaces between medical devices and EMR systems has been a given. I never considered any other way of ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 25, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: Physician Primary care Source Type: blogs
