Clinical Cases and Images - Blog

Health News of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:10:00 PST

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day:

"The brains of human beings seem built to process stories better than other forms of input. Without numbers, stories are just anecdotes, but without stories, numbers are just dry statistics" http://bit.ly/4u93VJ

How Much Do Doctors in Other Countries Make? NYT - http://bit.ly/3DDrz5 - Contrary to expectations, the U.S. doesn't top the list for specialists.

75% of Italian and Canadian doctors report patients wait a long time to see specialists, 28% in the U.S. http://bit.ly/2tzz8x

Movie Theater Popcorn a Calorie Bomb: A large popcorn tub packs more fat and calories than 2 Big Macs http://bit.ly/2GBIsi

People who smoke or who have high blood pressure or diabetes in middle age are more likely to develop dementia http://bit.ly/3ZeMyE)

Hospitalist Blogs selected by the Society of Hospital Medicine http://bit.ly/1jTjsF - 2 are parked domains/spam now - the others are useful.

Historic photos: Famine in Uganda http://bit.ly/1BmSxj

Pediatric growth charts and growth percentile calculators http://bit.ly/1dYHYt and http://bit.ly/3eeJXp

Forensic science: Using insects to help solve crimes - CNN http://bit.ly/134wFw

Medical news tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Follow me on Twitter:

Google study: How physicians use the internet and search in their clinical practices

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:10:00 PST

Embedded PDF: Google study: How physicians use the internet and search in their clinical practices.

Link via IgniteBLOG.

@amcunningham points out that the report is "unfortunately research carried out as market research for Google and doesn't help #meded very much."

Transbook: The Book That Contains All Books

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:54:00 PST

Amazon Kindle is the early prototype of the mythical "transbook".

From WSJ:

So far the new technology has been called the "e-reader," a term obviously picked by engineers, not poets. In literary terms it's a transbook, by which I mean that it is the book which can contain all books. A book is a singular object that can contain many voices, but the transbook has the potential to be a singular object containing all voices. It is not just another kind of media; it is the dream of ultimate text.

We are still in early days, but it is obvious where the transbook is headed: It will eventually provide access to all text that is non-copyright, and to the purchase of every book in or out of "print." Kindle 2's boast of being able to hold 1,500 titles will eventually sound as ludicrous as those early ads for floppy disks boasting that they could hold up to 64k of data. We will want everything and we will get it. Possibly there will eventually develop a subscription service, which provides access to all books for a monthly fee. At any rate, a single object will contain the contents of all the world's libraries.

References:
The Book That Contains All Books. WSJ, 2009.
Image source: Amazon.com.

Health News of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:26:00 PST

Exercise remodels the brain, making it more stress-resistant (in rats, at least) http://bit.ly/QHkMU

Another study: Regular consumption of alcohol reduces the risk of heart disease by 30-50% http://bit.ly/FZQl3

Young athletes should be screened for heart disease with 2 tests rather than 1: ECG and echocardiogram http://bit.ly/176Nuu

55% of adult Americans don't want to get the H1N1 flu vaccine according to a poll http://bit.ly/4qWyFj

Morphine can increase tumor cell proliferation, inhibit immune system, and promote growth of new blood vessels http://bit.ly/n1uxL

Australian hospital staff set up anonymous blog to voice concerns about hospital cutbacks - BMJ http://bit.ly/Ru9jh

Tiny chip could be used to diagnose dozens of diseases - BBC http://bit.ly/1CjTIu - Chips don't diagnose diseases, doctors do.

A Scientist's Guide to Academic Etiquette http://bit.ly/1c6fnk

Social network sites 'need help buttons' for children to report concerns about bullying - BBC http://bit.ly/1SwEx9

"How should hospitalists be cultivated?" - Dr. RW discusses 2 competing models: http://bit.ly/1astsi

Health News of the Day, part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:33:00 PST

Wii sports video games may burn as many calories as moderate-intensity exercises such as brisk walking http://bit.ly/4nc2WY

Folic Acid (B9) and Vitamin B12 May Increase Cancer Risk http://bit.ly/3m4UiL -- Folic acid supplements may raise cancer risk http://bit.ly/3Rn3pr and Selenium Supplements May Raise Heart Risk http://bit.ly/15Hw4M

Pharaoh to Friend: ‘Who’s Gonna Know I Ate French Fries?’ http://bit.ly/1hntBQ - Headline of the day, commenting on heart disease in mummies.

Universities asked how the practice of professors putting their names on others’ articles is different from plagiarism http://bit.ly/vkAIT

Library in a Pocket: “It’s a surprisingly pleasant experience to read on a small screen” http://bit.ly/2bOrxd - I don't think so.

How to make a Google Calendar public and embed it into a website

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:50:00 PST

I have written in the past How Doctors Can Use Google Calendar to Help Patients See Their Practice Schedule and Make Appointments and How Patients Can Monitor Their Medical Condition with it.

The screencast below shows how to make a public Google Calendar and embed it in your website:

Screencast: How to make a Google Calendar public and embed it into a website, by by @jasonhbuck.

References:
Google Calendar for Doctors: Help Patients See Your Practice Schedule and Make Appointments
Google Calendar for Patients: Monitor Your Medical Condition

Health News of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:30:00 PST

Hyperkalaemia caused by increased potassium intake of various "sports" and "detox" drinks http://bit.ly/2iQMgG

People who have had repeated flu infections or repeated flu vaccines may have some protection against H1N1 influenza http://bit.ly/DdXBm )

The Healthiest And Unhealthiest States in America: Lists & Rankings http://bit.ly/3abpwO

Cost of happiness discovered by Australian economist http://bit.ly/2Y6nBI

'Fearless' 3-Year-Olds Might Be Tomorrow's Criminals http://bit.ly/1CJn0s

Kissing as an evolutionary adaptation to protect against Human Cytomegalovirus-induced teratogenesis http://bit.ly/3Nhvrs

NPR: Ancient Egyptians Suffered From Hardened Arteries Too http://bit.ly/3TtCjC - NPR has a health blog - npr.org/blogs/health

Texting people to remind them to wear sunscreen daily actually works http://bit.ly/OAdKk

Health News of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:19:00 PST

Study: Little Benefit Seen, So Far, in Electronic Medical Records http://bit.ly/36WAYR

Study: heavily marketed Zetia was inferior to an old standby drug, niacin, in reducing buildup in the carotid artery http://bit.ly/1WH7z3

Flibanserin pill to treat pre-menopausal woman suffering from Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) http://bit.ly/2udrAS )

Positive Psychology - why optimism is good for your health - BBC Health Check audio (28 min) http://bit.ly/1LZdQ1

"Cough into your mobile phone for instant diagnosis" - Telegraph.co.uk http://bit.ly/sPgnt

Australia operates "closed shop" to restrict doctors from overseas, say critics - BMJ http://bit.ly/1eeQJX

Drug companies raising prices at the fastest rate in years in the run-up to health care legislation http://bit.ly/3lDXC

RhinoChill device pumps coolant into patient nose after heart attack and during ongoing CPR to prevent brain damage http://bit.ly/4wWcJ

7-10% decline in primary care office visits for patients who e-mail their physicians http://bit.ly/2oFJ2p

Medical news tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support.

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Ad: Special discount for CasesBlog readers: 15% off white hospital scrubs with code "clinicalwhites"

NYT interviews Dr. Blumenthal, the President's EMR "czar"

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:51:00 PST

From the NYTimes:

We found that about 17 percent of physicians in 2008 had adopted an electronic health record, and about ten percent of hospitals.

The Danes have virtually 100 percent of physicians using electronic health records. In Britain, virtually 100 percent of primary care physicians use them. In Australia, Sweden, Norway, virtually 100 percent. In many, many other Western countries, the electronic record is virtually ubiquitous.

From 2011 to 2015, there is a bonus (for adopting EMR). After 2015, if you have not adopted, and you see Medicare or Medicaid patients, you may experience a penalty.

On average, the cost is between $40,000 and $50,000, of which about a third is the software and the hardware, about a third is the cost of getting it set up in the office, and about a third is maintaining it.

References:
Computerized Health Records. NYT, 2009.

Health News of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:29:00 PST

Older people who walk slowly are 3 times more likely to die of heart disease than older people who walk faster - BMJ http://bit.ly/40mPqW)

Battery of tests given to a single patient having a heart attack adds up to the radiation dose of 725 chest X-rays http://bit.ly/4tzuKW

New U.S. breast cancer guidelines recommend against routine mammograms for women in their 40s. Guidelines suggest women 50 to 74 only get a mammogram every other year http://bit.ly/2Qdecp)

49 million Americans -- one in seven -- struggle to get enough to eat according to a government report http://bit.ly/2qVWIg

Top 10 Hospitalists for 2009 http://bit.ly/vcdwH

The new active Wii video games may be providing actual exercise, creating a healthier generation of couch potato http://bit.ly/4no2On

Some specialists will see extra cuts in Medicare pay, revisions represent a potentially fatal hit for some practices http://bit.ly/3HwrzT

Mexico international striker Antonio de Nigris has died at the age of 31 from a suspected heart attack - CNN http://bit.ly/20MHu5

NYT: Implants are best solution to replace lost teeth in most cases, more economical than bridges over time - ADA is not so certain http://bit.ly/uXyzx

Auditory Hallucination of Pink Floyd Song "Brick in the Wall" as a Warning Sign of Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformation http://bit.ly/34YVz9

Mispredicting Happiness

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:56:00 PST

From the Journal of Happiness Studies:

Young people mispredict happiness levels in old age, believing—wrongly—that happiness declines with age.

Young male binge drinkers are particularly prone to thinking that happiness declines with age.

References:
Mispredicting Happiness Across the Adult Lifespan: Implications for the Risky Health Behaviour of Young People. Journal of Happiness Studies, 2009.
Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

New Medical Blog: Education Consult Service

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:12:00 PST

Education Consult Service - Web-based Best Practices Exchange is a blog authored by Christine Taylor, PhD at Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Taylor works on faculty development projects for Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine (CCLCM) faculty and has been writing a blog about controversies in medical education.

Each post raises questions about a situation or a particular issue in medical education and invites comments from the audience. The blog has been active since May 2008:

http://educonsult.blogspot.com

Image source: Education Consult Service - Web-based Best Practices Exchange

Health News of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:35:00 PST

Diabetes incidence in high-risk adults reduced by 58% with lifestyle intervention and by 31% with metformin. Prevention or delay of diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin can persist for at least 10 years http://bit.ly/3o4eee

Nov 14 is World Diabetes Day: 285 million people across the world are living with diabetes; 90% is type 2 http://bit.ly/2beCtl

Eating 1 dark chocolate candy bar/day reduced levels of stress hormones cortisol and catecholamines in stressed people http://bit.ly/2z0VVb

"The 7 Most Powerful People in Medicine" - Forbes http://bit.ly/C0DIj

Dr. William Ganz dies at 90; survived a Nazi labor camp, co-invented Swan-Ganz catheter http://bit.ly/2vEw3B

Health News of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:50:00 PST

5 Pathogens Linked to Risk for Stroke: Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, CMV, herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 http://bit.ly/3UUisR

FDA looks for ways to regulate drug promotion on Twitter, Wikipedia, blogs and other social media http://bit.ly/1fJ1X8

5% of winter deaths are caused by influenza http://bit.ly/3tU1oR

How to avoid falling victim to a hospital mistake - CNN http://bit.ly/1dUL1T

Video: Top 10 Tips for Residency Interviews http://bit.ly/41lkLG

Doctors and Social Media: Benefits and Dangers - Medscape review http://bit.ly/23HTBP

A high-fat, high-sugar diet can quickly and dramatically change the population of microbes living in the GI tract http://bit.ly/45aiDi

"Try an organic, locally grown, all vegetable diet with Vit B12 and D and no caffeine. Your body will thank you for it" http://bit.ly/3xBoCd

CNN video: Steps to avoid medical errors

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:39:45 PST

From CNN:

1. Say: "My name is Mary Smith, my date of birth is October 21, 1965, and I'm here for an appendectomy."

2. Say: "Please check my ID bracelet."

3. Say: "Please look in my chart and tell me what procedure I'm having."

4. Say: "I want to mark up my surgical site with the surgeon present."

5. Be impolite.

References:
How to avoid falling victim to a hospital mistake - CNN http://bit.ly/1dUL1T

Health News of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:57:00 PST

U.S. primary care visit duration increased from 18 to 20.8 minutes from 1997 to 2005 http://bit.ly/AIP07

Study Shows Just an Hour of Meditation Training Brings Results in Pain Management http://bit.ly/2zzJ7o

Workers exposed to high levels of bisphenol A (BPA) were 4-7 times more likely to report sexual function problems http://bit.ly/tNyxi

"Should physicians pay for their own CME to avoid ethical entanglements?" http://bit.ly/4gCZc3

Bob Wachter reviews the Japanese health system from a U.S. hospitalist point of view http://bit.ly/2pYS48 - This is a must read.

The French and U.S. approaches to training doctors - a post by a doctor who has gone through both systems http://bit.ly/EPKCQ

"Med school enrollment up, but residency slots remain flat http://bit.ly/2VF9VP = more competition for specialty slots?" via @progressnotes

"Doctor-Patient Dialog on Social Media: A Bad Idea?" http://bit.ly/3BT06I - It is a bad idea if we use the social media tools we have now.

Google "wonder wheels" are rudimentary mind maps

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:35:04 PST

Google "wonder wheel" for asthma looks like a rudimentary mind map: http://bit.ly/4tOOF (see below):

WikiMindMap provides better visual results http://bit.ly/2y4pnk (see below):

WikiMindMap is a website that organizes wiki content in a mind map format http://bit.ly/1ZV5rC and http://www.wikimindmap.org

See the "Web 2.0 and medicine" Google Wonder wheel http://bit.ly/3iHR1 - @giustini, @berci, @laikas and @DrVes make the top results:

Related:
ICU Mind Maps http://bit.ly/1VIVOi and http://bit.ly/2EnZLi

Effect of children on life satisfaction of married people is positive and increasing with number of children

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:38:00 PST

From the Journal of Happiness Studies:

We investigate the relationship between having children at home and life satisfaction. Contrary to much of the literature, our results are consistent with an effect of children on life satisfaction that is positive, large and increasing in the number of children.

The effect, however, is contingent on the individual’s characteristics. In particular, our findings are consistent with children making married people better off, while most unmarried individuals appear to be worse off with children.

References:
Children and Life Satisfaction. Luis Angeles. Journal of Happiness Studies. 10.1007/s10902-009-9168-z, 10/2009.
Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

BMJ video: The man who pioneered the randomised controlled trial

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:11:00 PST

BMJ video: "John Crofton pioneered the randomised controlled trial in a 1948 BMJ paper which looked at the antibiotic streptomycin to treat TB. Now in his 90s, Dr Crofton talks to Colin Blakemore about the importance of randomisation and blinding, and how it has helped to make medicine more evidence based."

BMJ video: The woman who knew too much

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:09:00 PST

BMJ video: Alice Stewart: The woman who knew too much.

"Alice Stewart was one of Britain's foremost epidemiologists. However her recognition came late in her career, having spent her life fighting the establishment's enshrined views.

In the 1950s when she started her work, x-rays were routinely used in foetal monitoring. It was Stewart who first showed the link between the practice and childhood leukemia. She went on to look at the effects of low-level radiation exposure - uncovering the true adverse effects of chronic exposure, and thus earning herself the enmity of the nuclear industry."

Cure for obstructive sleep apnea: didgeridoo?

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:03:00 PST

The didgeridoo has been used for over 1500 years in the Kakadu region of Australia’s Northern Territory. Apparently, it is now investigated as a treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in Switzerland:

Cure for obstructive sleep apnea: didgeridoo?

Link via Life in the Fast Line.

Google Dashboard shows the data associated with your Google account

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:29:33 PST

From the official Google blog:

"Have you ever wondered what data is stored with your Google Account? The Google Dashboard offers a simple view into the data associated with your account — easily and concisely in one location." See the video below:

"Designed to be simple and useful, the Dashboard summarizes data for each product that you use (when signed in to your account) and provides you direct links to control your personal settings. Dashboard covers more than 20 products and services, including Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Web History, Orkut, YouTube, Picasa, Talk, Reader, Alerts, Latitude and many more." Check out www.google.com/dashboard

This is a very useful service. It looks like I have 10,000 emails in Gmail and 399 RSS subscriptions in Google Reader.

References:
Transparency, choice and control — now complete with a Dashboard!

Health News of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:51:00 PST

Eating slowly increases anorexigenic gut peptide which leads to appetite reduction http://bit.ly/2AUx6S

23% of people may have restless leg syndrome - much higher than previously reported rates of 3-10% http://bit.ly/2AhpEV

Outcomes for people who had CABG "off-pump" (without heart-lung machine) were worse than conventional procedure http://bit.ly/JVK63 -- CABG “pump” might lead to memory problems/personality changes - some privately called such patients “pumpheads” - NYT. 20% of the 225,000-250,000 people who have bypass surgery each year have it off pump http://bit.ly/3lJXlK

Potential treatment for priapism (painful erections longer than 4 hours): adenosine deaminase used for SCID therapy http://bit.ly/1QgPUf

British hospitals banned doctor ties because they spread bacteria. In America, we made them germ resistant - ACP http://bit.ly/1KcWMl

Amednews: How to cope with litigation stress. 70- 86% of physicians felt depression, frustration and anger during a lawsuit, 16% experienced an illness/exacerbation http://bit.ly/486qCZ

The United States ranks 30th in terms of infant mortality, affected by the high percentage of preterm births http://bit.ly/26FMty

CNN @elizcohencnn: "BPA is everywhere - here's how to avoid it" http://twitpic.com/o8mzm

Hospital bill stuns slain student’s parents: $ 6,000/minute for 5 minutes at the UC Davis Trauma Center http://bit.ly/39Tby

BMJ video: The man who stopped smoking

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:07:00 PST

BMJ video: Richard Doll: The man who stopped smoking.

"Richard Doll was a luminary of clinical research whose case control study, published in the BMJ in 1950, first identified smoking as an important cause of cancer and other diseases.

He carried his research out on doctors in the UK who smoked, and tracked their mortality over the course of 50 years. The latest paper being published in the BMJ in 2004."

Social Media Related Tweets and Insights

noreply@blogger.com (Ves Dimov, M.D.) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:05:00 PST

From my Twitter account:

List Browser: browse to see what people are doing with the new Twitter lists feature http://bit.ly/sZxbb

Medical resident life: @drscottgberg "Dark when I leave for work, dark when I come home from work."

@googlereader: Quick access to newly-added "Explore" and "Popular items" views via g-e and g-p keyboard shortcuts http://bit.ly/147g68

"Why I think I am a patient and not a consumer" by @amcunningham http://bit.ly/1iD5p4

Tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.