RedScrubs
The Resource for Medical Professionals

It’s funny how hospital operations change when the Medical Marijuana Advocates come by for an inspection. Reminds me of our family getting ready to have holiday guests. Secret phone calls go out to everyone. High alert. High alert. Half-filled coffee mugs sitting on the counter mysteriously disappear. Charge nurses run ahead of the group with a bunch of keys […] But really, if the regulations were being followed and the surveyors were reasonable people who were well trained there would be no cause for panic now would there??

Probiotics are microorganisms with potential health benefits. Probiotics are mainly used to treat GI conditions, including antibiotic-associated diarrhea, infectious diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome where the microflora of the intestine has been disturbed. When the friendly microorganisms in the body have been disrupted or killed by antibiotics or stress, the homeostasis of the body is thrown off. Restoring the balance and proper immune function by placing new “friendly” organisms into the body is what probiotic therapy is all about.

An open letter blog to Senator Baucus addressing improvement toward health reform. A defective healthcare system cannot itself be reformed or improved via defective health IT. Interesting facts are brought to light with regards to the current health IT status and where it is headed.

It turns out that Dr. Michael Kelley, who had been reading asbestos related x-rays for 15 years, has found 7,323 cases. Dr. Kelley got paid $500.00 for every case he screened. Coincidentally, when the x-rays were re-read, 88% of them were normal. OOPS!

A blog about a woman with neurocystercosis, or worms in the brain. Previously, a healthy young woman who presented with progressive numbness and difficulty walking – diagnosis: tumor in the Medulla. This blog contains an actual video of the worms being removed from her brain. This is a medical blog first!

The reports on the device state that it contributes to both weight loss and normalization of blood glucose levels. In the trials the device was in place for 12 weeks, and then removed. The procedures take around 30 minutes or so and are done endoscopically through the mouth. The report stated that participants lost triple the amount of weight normally lost with diet programs. A narrative about a new weight loss procedure. I guess we need another one. Nothing else is working, at least, not for long.

Hospitals aren’t the first businesses hurt when the economy sours, but they get hurt nonetheless, as an article in last week’s NY Times points out. But hospitalists have never lived through a massive downturn. What happens to them when the economy tanks?

People with better than average web searching ability are said to have “GoogleFu”, which is not to be confused with the latest creation, which the blogger calls GoogleFlu and was named “Flu Trends”. A comical look at CDC’s flu tracking system is discussed in this blog.

Boston researchers reported early Sunday morning that they have developed a strategy that dramatically reduces the risk of heart attacks, strokes and even death among older adults who don’t have the traditional warning signs of clogged arteries. The results of the Astra Zeneca’s anticipated Jupiter study – which measures levels of a protein called CRP that can indicate arteries are inflamed and point towards heart disease – were just recently released at the American Heart Association meeting. The cholesterol pill reduced the risk of cardiovascular death and heart attacks by 44 percent compared with patients on a placebo. The study had a whopping 17,802 participants – men over age 50 and women over 60- both ripe ages for heart attacks, but who were healthy. They did not display signs of heart disease and had cholesterol levels not requiring meds under current guidelines. Other findings – the combined risk of heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death was reduced by 47 percent, the risk of heart attack was cut by 54 percent, the risk of stroke was cut by 48 percent and total mortality was reduced by 20 percent. The study is available in The New England Journal of Medicine and may raise more questions on the utility and reliability of the CRP test.