• Filter By:
• Specialty
• Source
• Condition
• Cancer
• Infectious Disease
• Drug
• Training
• Management
• Procedure
• Therapy
• Vaccine
• Nutrition
• Country

New books received this week
Treatment of TMDs: bridging the gap between advances in research and clinical patient management. / Charles S. Greene (ed). Hanover Park, IL: Quintessence, 2013. Every chapter provides an overview of new research in the field and its potential for changing future patient care. Covering such clinically relevant topics as the relation of abnormal joint function to joint pathology, the prediction of treatment responsiveness, how sleep disorders affect TMJ and facial pain, the role of comorbid conditions in pain response and management, and the evolving field of pharmacotherapeutics, this book is sure to transform the way c...
Source: DentistryLibrary@Sydney - June 6, 2013 Category: Dentists Tags: New books Source Type: blogs

31 Year Old Male with RUQ Pain and a History of Pericarditis. Submitted by a Med Student, with Great Commentary on Bias!
This was submitted by a fantastic medical student who wished to remain anonymous: A 31 year old male with a history of viral pericarditis one year ago presented with right upper quadrant pain. Here is his initial ED ECG:The R-wave in V4 extends to 33 mm, the computerized QTc is 372 msThe only available previous ECG is from one year ago, during the admission when he was diagnosed with pericarditis:1 year ago ECG, with clinician and computer interpretatioin of pericarditis What do you think? What do these EKGs show? What is your plan for this patient?Here was the story from my perspective, prospectively:I was shown this ECG ...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - December 20, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs

The RUC. "an Independent Group of Physicians?" - But It Includes Executives and Board Members of For-Profit Health Care Corporations and Large Hospital Systems
Introduction We just discussed how a major story in Politico has once again drawn attention to the opaque RUC (Resource Based Relative Value System Update Committee) and its important role in determining what physicians are paid for different kinds of services, and hence the incentives that have helped make the US health care system so procedurally oriented.  (See the end of our last post for a summary of the complex issues that swirl around the RUC.)The Politico article covered most of the bases, but notably omitted how the RUC may be tied to various large health care organizations, especially for-profit, and how the...
Source: Health Care Renewal - August 28, 2014 Category: Health Management Tags: AMA boards of directors conflicts of interest health care prices healthcare executive hospital systems perverse incentives regulatory capture RUC Source Type: blogs

In (Gasp) Defense of the Coronary Stent
By ANISH KOKA, MD A kerfuffle ensued recently when an oncologist and expert on evidence based medicine took the field of cardiology to task over the evidence for placement of the ubiquitous coronary stent.  What started with a lengthy article in Propublica that included coronary stenting for stable coronary disease as a prime example of a procedure done without evidence to back it up turned into this fiery twitter exchange between Drs. Kirtane (cardiology) and Prasad (oncology). The crux of the debate revolves around placement of coronary stents in patients with stable coronary artery disease.  Stable coronary artery d...
Source: The Health Care Blog - March 6, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs

A man in his 40s with a highly specific ECG
In conclusion, the presence of negative T waves in both leads III and V1 allows PE to be differentiated simply but accurately from ACS in patients with negative T waves in the precordial leads. "Witting et al. looked at consecutive patients with PE, ACS, or neither. They found that only 11% of PE had 1 mm T-wave inversions in both lead III and lead V1, vs. 4.6% of controls.  This does not contradict the conclusions of Kosuge et al. that when T-wave inversions in the right precordial leads and in lead III are indeed present, then PE may indeed by more common.  In m...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - March 30, 2021 Category: Cardiology Authors: Pendell Source Type: blogs

A Middle Aged Male diagnosed with Gastroesophageal Reflux
This middle aged male with h/o GERD but also h/o stents presented to the ED with chest pain.  He had been at a clinic that day where he had complained of worsening GERD.  An EKG was recorded and interpreted as normal by the computer, the clinician, and by the overreading cardiologist.He had an ECG recorded in triage (I am not certain whether the patient had active pain at this time; I believe he didnot):What do you think?Here is the patient ' s ECG from several hours ago (which was essentially the same):This shows minimal inferior ST Elevation that is howeverall but diagnostic of inferior ischemia. There is the o...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - July 16, 2022 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs