GruntDocs is the host for this week’s Grand Rounds! You can read this week’s edition here.
Welcome to this weeks’ Grand Rounds, a self-selected compendium of the best of the Medical Blogosphere!This is my 7th time to Host (first Seven Timer), and it’s always an honor. I asked everyone who submitted to send the date of their first blog post. After graphing them it’s a waste of time, nothing to see, you’re spared/welcome. Thanks everyone, anyway.28 submissions by 27 authors, thanks to all.First, the only post recommended by someone other than themselves (Liaka’s MedLibLog offered this, and kudos) is Dr. Wes with Social Media and The Challenge of Overcoming the Challenge of Intellectual Complacency. Tests (really, information / teaching) via Twitter. This would be cool, were I not complacent. ………
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H/T to @mtnmd for the link to this amazing story! Chase Britton, Boy Without a Cerebellum, Baffles Doctors (go watch the video)
Chase was also born prematurely, and he was legally blind. When he was 1 year old, doctors did an MRI, expecting to find he had a mild case of cerebral palsy. Instead, they discovered he was completely missing his cerebellum -- the part of the brain that controls motor skills, balance and emotions. …..Chase is not a vegetable, leaving doctors bewildered and experts rethinking what they thought they knew about the human brain.
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Interesting interview on NPR by Fresh Air's Dave Davies: V.S. Ramachandran's Tales Of The 'Tell-Tale Brain'
Dr. V.S. Ramachandran is a neurologist and professor at the University of California, San Diego,….In his latest, The Tell-Tale Brain, Ramachandran describes several neurological case studies that illustrate how people see, speak, conceive beauty and perceive themselves and their bodies in 3-D space.Take, for example, the clinical phenomenon known as the "phantom limb." In the majority of cases where people have lost limbs, they continue to vividly feel the presence of the missing limb. Chronic phantom pain — which strikes roughly two-thirds of patients who have had a limb removed — can become so severe that patients seriously contemplate suicide. …..
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I love these heart coasters (photo credit) featured by Street Anatomy!
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Words, phrases, titles and their meanings/origins have been on my mind as can be seen in my posts the past two days (here and here). This continues with Future Docs’ new post: Student Doctor or Medical Student? & Other Confusing Names
….Complicating matters is the propagation of the term “student doctor” at some institutions which is especially problematic. After all, how many patients will be quickly discern that ‘student doctor’ actually refers to ‘medical student’ and not a ‘doctor’? Unfortunately, patients who hear the term ‘student doctor’ may not hear the term ‘student’ and just zero in on the ‘doctor’ part, as they often wait patiently for their doctors to see them in the hospital. This brings us to the problems of how doctors are named in teaching hospitals. The system could not be more confusing. ……..
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It’s that time again, St. Baldrick’s, but this year it’s different for our friend Movin Meat: The Cause of My LIfe
When my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer eight weeks ago, at the age of 36 and with four kids, the youngest of whom was 4 months old, it was what one might call a shock, the like of which you don't get too many times in a lifetime. It was a life-altering moment. As we walked out of the hospital, numb, one thing was clear, above all else:This Changes Everything
There were so many decisions to be made. ……What was I going to do about St Baldrick's? ……….
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The 2010 Medical Weblog Awards Update – the voting is closed. The winners will be announced tomorrow. Congratulations to all of them! Well deserved. (photo credit)
The 2010 Medical Weblog Awards nominees...
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H/T to @MedicalNews for the link to this article: Mummy remains show false toes helped ancient Egyptians walk (photo credit)
Two artificial big toes -- one found attached to the foot of an ancient Egyptian mummy -- may have been the world's earliest functional prosthetic body parts, says the scientist who tested replicas on volunteers. …….
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Check out Scanman’s recent post: A Parable Of Rigidity in which he tells of how the use of twitter allowed doctors in two different countries to help save a patient’s life. He tend rants (justifiably) on the red tape medical journals place on writing up such a case report.
Note: This is a true incident. ………Some of my friends in the medical blogosphere and medical twitterverse know that I loathe the red tape associated with submitting articles / papers to big medical journals. The story above just reinforces my loathing.I prefer posting case reports in my blog rather than go through this. ……
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H/T to @precordialthump for the link to this very nice post over at Academic Life in Emergency Medicine: Trick of the Trade: Conveying risk for postexposure prophylaxis A health care worker hurried in to the ED after being poked with a needle.'It was an old 18G needle with dried blood', she said. Her puncture had drawn blood. You discussed the very low risk of contacting HIV and the side effects of postexposure prophylaxis (PEP). She asked, 'What does very low risk mean?'Is there another way to covery risk for patients?
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