MT Insider and Other Medical Crap

Well hello world, long time no see!

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:22:00 +0000

I've been horrible and I abandoned this blog for the last two years. I absolutely love blogging but have been focusing all my attention on my country music blog Nashvillegab.com. Starting in January I will once again begin keeping this blog up-to-date and totally exciting.

Okay, the exciting part might be a stretch, but at least up-to-date and hopefully relevant to my fellow MTs. I will also be purchasing a new domain name since I let my other lapse and somebody swooped in and purchased it.
Bastards.

Anyway, if you've kept my site in your feed reader, thank you. To anyone who visits and would like to add us to your feed reader, then please be sure to add http://mtinsider.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss to your feed reader so that when I do start updating again, you'll know. You can also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/MT-Insider/275927485771914. I will simplify the Facebook name once I've bought my domain name to make sure that I can get the name I want.

Simple step saves lives

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:10:00 +0000

My husband is the king of to-do lists. When we go camping, he makes a list. When we go grocery shopping, he makes a list. When we go on a trip, he makes a list. In fact, when we drove to the coast last year he made a list of all the towns we would encounter along the way with the number of miles from that town to the coast and how many miles we had driven from our hometown to that town. He said it was for the kids so that when they asked how long we had left he could tell them exactly; I know it was actually for his benefit though.

Well who knew that the little to-do list can be more than the anal-retentive husband's friend? It can actually save lives.

According to a new report, doctors worldwide who followed a simple list during surgery "cut the death rate from surgery almost in half and complications by more than a third in a large international study of how to avoid blatant operating room mistakes."

Okay, time to make lists mandatory in hospitals I think.

Some of the 19-item checklist used in the study included:

Before the patient is given anesthesia, make sure the part of the body to be operated on is marked, and make sure everyone on the surgical team knows if the patient has an allergy.
Before the surgeons cut, make sure everyone in the operating room knows one another and what their roles will be during the operation, and confirm that all the needed X-rays and scan images are in the room.
After surgery, check that all the needles, sponges and instruments are accounted for.

Before the checklist was introduced, 1.5 percent of patients in a comparison group died within 30 days of surgery at the eight hospitals. Afterward, the rate dropped to 0.8 percent — a 47 percent decrease.

Good news, though, the Joint Commission is considering making more lists mandatory.

Whew.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

It's modern art, try not to puke

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:15:00 +0000

This is kind of interesting in a totally disturbing and disgusting way.

There's a sculpture at the Universite du Quebec's art gallery in Montreal (show running through Valentine's Day) called Cloaca No. 5 that reproduces the human digestive tract - burps, farts, poo and all.

The machine is fed, it digests, and then at the end of the day it does it's business, all in the name of art.

Despite reproducing a bodily function, the creator doesn't believe his contraption belongs in a science museum.

"I don't have that ego," he said, with a chuckle. "I'm not helping sick people. I'm practically useless in society."

More here.

Gift Alert! Plush guts

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:42:00 +0000

Oh what to get the MT or doctor in your life who has it all....

How about some cute plush innards? I Heart Guts is packed full of cute little stuffed hearts, lungs, livers, and kidneys.

Unfortunately, the stuffed uterus has been recalled due to not being all that child safe, but never fear, there's lots more where that one came from.

Boy grows second skeleton

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:50:00 +0000

Shane Terry is a 4-year-old little boy in Watertown, NY who has one of only 600 confirmed cases in the world of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, or FOP, a disease which causes bone to form in muscles, tendons, ligaments and other connective tissue.

“When he was first diagnosed, I wanted to keep him in a bubble,” Kimberly A. Hayes, Shane’s mother, told the newspaper. “Through an FOP group online, I learned that I need to let him be as much of a kid as I can. I have to look at every situation to see which would be safest for Shane.”

The life expectancy of this disease is only 41 as there is no known cure.

Read the whole article here or visit the FOP website here.

Double arm transplant recipient doing well

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:29:00 +0000

The world's first complete double arm transplant recipient, Karl Merk, is doing well after surgery.

"It was really overwhelming when I saw that I had arms again," said the 54-year-old, who wore a sleeveless black shirt showing clearly where his new arms had been grafted.

"These are my arms, and I'm not giving them away again," he told reporters at the Munich University Clinic where he remains nearly three months after the 15-hour operation.

It took a team of 40 surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and other support staff to perform the 15-hour operation on July 25-26. Merk lost his arms just below the shoulder in a combine harvester accident six years ago.

Doctors say there is an indication that nerves are growing back but that it could take up to two years for him to relearn how to use his hands.

Amazing what doctors are able to do now. You can read the whole article here and here.

Yeah, but do they charge full price?

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:47:00 +0000

I must say this surprised me. A new survey shows that about half of American doctors say they regularly give patients placebo treatments — usually drugs or vitamins that won't really help their condition. Also found is that many of the doctors aren't honest with the patient about what they're doing. Well duh, doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose of a placebo?

I type a lot of reports where the patient will have 15 or 20 medications and never once have I come across one that says placebo after it. It seems this might be a dangerously deceiving practice to me.

"It's a disturbing finding," said Franklin G. Miller, director of the research ethics program at the U.S. National Institutes Health and one of the study authors. "There is an element of deception here which is contrary to the principle of informed consent."

I'm not so much worried about the deception as I am about whether the doctor is charging regular price for these placebos. I'd be pissed if I found out I was paying regular price for something that didn't actually do anything.

{source}

123-year-old transplanted cornea still sees

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:33:00 +0000

Wow, German engineering at it's finest I guess. Well technically it's Norwegian, but German engineering sounded better.

Bernt Aune’s transplanted cornea has been in use for a record 123 years — since before the Eiffel Tower was built. The amazing thing is, the cornea still sees, though not as good as when originally placed.

Okay, if you're like me then it sounds like Bernt is 123 years old. Nope, just the cornea. Bernt had his cornea transplant in 1958 from the body of an elderly woman who was born in June 1885. Doctors told him to expect the transplant to only last five years.

“This is the oldest eye in Norway — I don’t know if it’s the oldest in the world,” Aune, now 80, told Reuters by telephone on Thursday. “But my vision’s not great any longer.”

Well now that's gotta be one pooped cornea! {source}

How much do you really know about the Apgars?

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:22:00 +0000

I don't know about you but I often find myself typing about stuff I really have no clue about. I know test names but may not know exactly what they're for, equipment names that I've never actually laid eyes on, things like that. I try and keep up with new things and have a pretty good idea what most of the things I'm typing about are, but medicine changes so fast that I think it's impossible to know everything.

Well Lil Sugar has a quicky quiz to see how much you know about the APGAR score. It's always sorta fun to test your knowledge. Oh, by the way, did you know APGAR stands for American Pediatric Gross Assessment Record? Maybe you can amaze your friends at your next MT Christmas party. Ha ha.

New treatment for depression

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:49:00 +0000

The government has approved a new noninvasive treatment for depression -- a device that beams magnetic pulses through the skull. How cool is that?

The new therapy is called transcranial magnetic stimulation or TMS, and though revolutionary, it isn't necessarily for everybody. The FDA approved the NeuroStar therapy specifically for patients who had no relief from their first antidepressant, offering them a different option than trying pill after pill.

"We're opening up a whole new area of medicine," says Dr. Mark George of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, who helped pioneer use of TMS in depression. "There's a whole field now that's moving forward of noninvasive electrical stimulation of the brain."

Now how great that they are attempting to come up with something that doesn't involve more pills. Good for them.

{source}

MT company makes Forbes list

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:34:00 +0000

Transcend has made the list at #19 of Forbes top 200 small companies in America.

To qualify, companies must have annual revenue of between $5 million and $750 million and meet certain profit margin, share price and trading volume thresholds.

"We are pleased to be recognized by Forbes," said Larry Gerdes, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transcend. "More than anything else, our financial performance results from our success in consistently delivering high quality service to our customers. I want to thank our employees for their day-in and day-out dedication and sense of urgency when it comes to taking care of our customers' needs."

Congrats to Transcend.

{source}

New and improved mechanical arm

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 05:06:00 +0000

This young man lost his arm to a gator after a swim in a ditch. He's been given this $100,000 prosthetic arm, the most advanced in the world. Awesome. Check out the whole article here.

Is autism curable?

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 04:58:00 +0000

This seems sort of irresponsible to me. Jenny McCarthy's son, Evan, has autism. His actress mom has been a very dedicated advocate in trying to find a cure and raising money for autism and I applaud her for that, but this newest story makes me think she may end up doing more damage than good.

McCarthy tells the newest edition of Us Magazine that she has cured her son of his autism with diet. I'm sure there's more to her miracle "cure," but diet seems to be the main thing. I guess all cures have to start somewhere, and some cures come from very strange sources, but to go on a national magazine claiming to have cured her son of autism seems maybe a bit premature.

Rare medical condition leaves girl black and blue

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 04:51:00 +0000

This little girl suffers from an odd disease that you will more than likely never type a report on. The disease, glomuvenous malformation (GVM), leaves the girl with black and blue bruises all over her body. There are only 60 known cases worldwide. To combat the condition the youngster takes a daily cocktail of 12 pills and has already visited hospital 100 times for tests and check-ups.

The little girl was born with the condition which means that as a baby she had these bruises. Can you imagine visiting the pediatrician when your child looked like this? I feel so bad for the mom in this case, I can imagine the looks and snide remarks she probably received. You can read the entire article about this rare little girl here.

A little humor for your Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:34:00 +0000

Banjo played during brain surgery

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:51:00 +0000

Holy cow. I knew that many patients were left awake during brain surgery, but this is amazing.

Nashville native and legendary banjo picker Eddie Adcock developed essential tremor and thought his banjo picking days were over. Then surgeons offered him a surgical option.

The amazing thing about this story is that Adcock was awake during the entire procedure, not only was he awake but he also picked away at his banjo to help surgeons position the electrodes that were being placed. The surgery took place at the Vanderbilt Medical Center and was videotaped by the surgeon. You can watch the video of the surgery here or watch the Diane Sawyer story below.

CDC launches CDC-TV

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 01:29:00 +0000

This is kind of interesting. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched CDC-TV which gives videos on a variety of health, safety and preparedness topics. The videos kind of remind me of what I was forced to watch in health class back in high school, but maybe eventually they'll get some interesting ones. Might be a good site to check once in a while.

There's an article here that describes the site.

Are you ever amazed by your own smarts?

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:43:00 +0000

Wow, just looked and it's been nearly a month since I've blogged on here. I'm so, so sorry. It's sort of hard to find topics relevant to MT that are interesting enough to write about, so I go gangbusters for a while and then I slow down. Guess I'm turning out to be a sort of wave-typist (as in I blog in waves). Sorry to anyone who checks back for updates and there aren't any.

Anyway, I'm sitting here working and it hit me, I'm really smart. LOL. Well maybe I'm not really super smart, but I sometimes amaze myself. I bet if you think about it, you'd amaze yourself too. So anyway, my smart moment came twice today when I was typing along and came to a word I had never heard of. I listened and then typed it out how I thought it sounded. Then I ran over to Google and googled it. Low and behold I had spelled this completely long and unknown word correctly. How the heck did that happen? It's because I'm so damn smart!

See, ever had one of those smart moments? I had another that was just like it but with a physician name. I spelled out some gibberish physician last name who was from another hospital and when I went to investigate it I found I had spelled it correctly. Somebody please pat me on the back so I don't have to reach around that far!!!

Okay, maybe I'm just easy to please, but shouldn't we all have our I'm-completely-fabulous moments throughout the day? We sometimes can't get others to give them to us so we have to search and be happy with what we do for ourselves. I know dang well my husband wouldn't understand why I was so pleased with myself for having spelled a couple of dumb things correctly, so I'm hoping all my fellow MTs out there in la la land will get it. Besides that, I want to inspire others to find little things to get thrilled about themselves about. Trust me, it's fun!

Can't think of one for yourself, how about when you type an entire report and spell check and have no errors. OMG!!! Doesn't that feel sooooo good?!? Please tell me I'm not alone in this little thrill.

Alright, I'm gonna quit showing my goober side. Back to work for me.

Celeb Med - Daniel Radcliffe

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:38:00 +0000

Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe has admitted to having the brain disorder, dyspraxia, which leaves the star with coordination problems.

Radcliffe says he got into acting in a last bid to boost his confidence after the condition lowered his self-esteem and made school hard.

Radcliffe tells the Daily Mail, "I was having a hard time at school in terms of being c**p at everything, with no discernible talent."

The 19-year-old actor says he still has to face some difficulties - especially tying his own shoe laces. He adds, "I sometimes think, ‘Why, oh why, has Velcro not taken off?’"

Two-headed baby born in Bangladesh

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:19:00 +0000

Baby Kiron was born on Monday with two arms, two legs, one stomach, one set of genitals, and two heads. Amazing.

The 12-pound boy was born via C-section to a 22-year-old mother in Bangladesh. Doctors are trying to determine if he has one or two sets of internal organs. {source}

Update: Kiron was taken home by his parents who were too poor to keep him in the hospital. He developed a fever and died August 28th.

MT jobs not the only ones being outsourced

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:54:00 +0000

There is a new trend in outsourcing, and it may not be what you're thinking.

Most people think of a physician as being irreplaceable, but there are some companies that are now trying to make clinic-based checkups a thing of the past.

If you live in Hawaii you may have the chance to see a physician via webcam, and your insurance may even pay for it.

In Houston, Texas there is a chain of retail clinics who has replaced in-person visits to a nurse practitioner with online, webcam-enabled visits with doctors across town.

Whole article here. You can check out Webcam MD here or American Well here and MT WebLive here.

A couple new sites

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:27:00 +0000

Hello MT buddies, got a wonderful email from fellow MT, Mary, who has a couple of sites I thought I would post here for you to check out.

The first site is Medical Transcription Mastery Center. It has multiple articles for MTs including getting started in MT, protecting your ears, picking the right school, etc. Lots of info to check out.

Mary's second site is a blog by the same name, MT Mastery Center. It has lots of posts, links, etc. to keep you entertained for a while.

FDA update, 08/27/2008

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:34:00 +0000

08/26/2008

Aloxi Capsules, (palonosetron hydrochloride) (prevention of nausea and vomiting from chemo)Helsinn Healthcare, SA, Approval

08/25/2008

Losartan Potassium Tablets (Cozaar), (angiotensin II receptor antagonist) Aurobindo Pharma, Ltd., Tentative Approval
Pamidronate Disodium Injection, (Aredia) (regulates blood calcium levels) Pliva-Lachema, AS, Approval

Celeb Med - Kim Kardashian

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:51:00 +0000

I run a celebrity gossip blog plus a Nashville gossip blog and I come across celebrity medical stuff a lot. I've been thinking for a while about adding some of the more interesting celebrity medical news here. So here's my first, Kim Kardashian.

Kim is a celebrity who is known basically for being a celebrity. She's on a reality show, but she's better known for her big booty and dating various famous men. You can read more about her here.

Kim apparently cut her toe in a hotel room. Ouch. On the bright side, at least her toenails looked nice for the photos. {source}

MT Question and Answer video

noreply@blogger.com (Bloggin' Momma) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:44:00 +0000

A video of questions and answers you may have if you're thinking about MT.