We often look at chronic pain patients in the emergency department as the bain of our existence. These patients patients will often challenge, confront and test all of our diagnostic and empathetic capabilities. But is it time for a better understanding and outlook at this…
Do you still rely on your physical examination skills or put more faith in the test you order? Abraham Verghese present’s an inspiring TED Talk on the power of the human hand in medicine and its use to touch, to comfort, to diagnose and to…
Bacon - a food item that, for anyone who needs it, surely ranks as the most essential food for use in a medical emergency.
It was not until two years later that the diagnosis of Tourette's syndrome was made. 1997 was deteriorating into an annus horribilis. Edward had been in hospital for weeks with a severe septic arthritis of the hip, we sold our over-capitalized house and my brother-in-law in England needed chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Synergistic tomes for the well-rounded physician I am drawn to an article from the New York Times extolling the virtues of literature in the education of physicians. I would like to share the sentiments of the author and add to…
December 1st is World AIDS Day --- a day to raise awareness for the ongoing AIDS pandemic around the world and to remember the past.
Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 080 - Just when you thought your brain could unwind on a Friday, some medical trivia FFFF.
This week's FFFF features a game of 'who said what?' - have you got the necessary funtabulosity to attribute each quotation to the correct medical or literary luminary... or in one case 'non-luminary'...
Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 082 - Just when you thought your brain could unwind on a Friday, some medical trivia FFFF.
Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 083 - Just when you thought your brain could unwind on a Friday, some medical trivia FFFF.
A 31 year old women presents with right lower quadrant pain and nausea. The onset of severe pain was 3 hours ago, whilst she had suffered some mild discomfort in the preceding 48 hours. Past medical history includes endometriosis and ovarian cysts. Inflammatory markers and BHCG are negative (CRP is < 1).
Pneumonia is an inflammatory, most commonly infectious process involving the lungs. Typically the alveoli in intensely inflamed areas fill with inflammatory fluid or pus, and this is known as consolidation. The changes may be widespread, patchy or lobar. Ultrasound can…