An article and accompanying editorial in the June 16, 2015 issue of JAMA looks at the issue and the practical implications of antibiotics versus surgery for acute appendicitis. For years we have treated diverticulitis nonsurgically with few complications. This study was undertaken in Finland but also studies in the US at UCLA are also underway. The… Read More
An article by Padma Gulur et al. in Pain Research and Treatment Volume 2015 (2015), Article ID 482081 looked at morphine and hydromorphone use. Hydromorphone (Dilaudid) is up to 7.5 times as potent as morphine and its use has dramatically increased in the past decade. This study has some great background information and resources which… Read More
Emergency physicians prescribe less than 5% of all opiate prescriptions in the United States. Furthermore, emergency physicians had the highest decrease (-8.9%) of all medical specialties in opiate prescriptions from 2010-2012. Although there is an opioid epidemic, the data shows that emergency physicians are part of the solution. Overall, opiate prescriptions increased by 11.7%… Read More
The relationship between vitamin D deficiency and certain cancers was first reported in 1980. They determined that people residing at higher latitudes, were more likely to have Vitamin D deficiencies also had higher rates of colon cancer. Vitamin D has since been linked to other cancers including breast, lung, and bladder. A study published in… Read More
Stomach cancer – also known as gastric cancer – is the fifth most common cancer worldwide. Almost a million cases of stomach cancer are diagnosed annually and this accounts just under 10% all cancer. The average age at diagnosis in the United States is 72 years. Stomach cancer is the third most common cause of… Read More
Associated Press, Michael Casey shares an interesting take on MMJ. CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The growing number of patients who claim marijuana helped them drop their painkiller habit has intrigued lawmakers and emboldened advocates, who are pushing for cannabis as a treatment for the abuse of opioids and illegal narcotics like heroin, as well as… Read More
There are countless new health related apps for your smartphone coming on the market every month. They can measure your heart rate, help with differential diagnosis and possibly even measure your blood pressure. Researchers at John Hopkins University looked to see how accurate one of the most popular blood pressure measuring apps was. They published… Read More
The majority of hospitals in the United States use the ESI triage tool. This tool Acad Emerg Med. 2010 Mar;17(3):238-43. doi: 10.1111/j.1553-2712.2010.00670.x.Accuracy of the Emergency Severity Index triage instrument for identifying elder emergency department patients receiving an immediate life-saving intervention. Platts-Mills TF1, Travers D, Biese K, McCall B, Kizer S, LaMantia M, Busby-Whitehead J, Cairns… Read More
This is another article that talks about the ridiculous amount of time that is consumed with documenting on electronic medical records. This study from the February 2016 Journal of Graduate Medical Education reports that interns spend 41 minutes per patient working on medical records. As the interns and residents learn the system this time drops to 30 minutes… Read More
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