Disqus - Latest Comments for wardslave

Re: Engadget's back to school guide 2011: e-readers

wardslave — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:48:18 -0000

The Nook Color is preferred, because it can be converted (with some technical assistance) into a fully functional Android tablet.

Re: Engadget's back to school 2011 sweepstakes: we're giving away $3,000 worth of gear... 15 times!

wardslave — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:47:00 -0000

After many a years, I am going back to school. It feels strange to again think about purchasing back-to-school supplies.

Re: Engadget's back to school guide 2011: digital cameras

wardslave — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:43:20 -0000

I could think of at least a few ways to put this to good use.

Re: New & Interesting (2 November 2009)

wardslave — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:33:33 -0000

I agree that RSI is likely the cause of the video game-associated arthritides, John. The nuance in the study, however, is that children present to the pediatric clinic with an assortment of hand complaints, whereby the etiology of pain symptoms is not always obvious. The differential diagnoses in pediatric patients should more commonly include traumatic, inflammatory, and infectious possibilities.

In fact, the physician who conducted the study was a rheumatologist whose primary aim was to "prove that the new game systems don't cause any problem or pain because they are mostly tilt and motion, not press like the old ones." The results of his study were contrary to his original hypothesis.

The relevance of the study is to remind us that video game use is an important component of the history when evaluating a patient with wrist or hand pain.

Re: Top iPhone Medical Apps for The Wards

wardslave — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:47:29 -0000

Hi Jerry, thank you for your valuable input. I will look into the app and perhaps incorporate it into the next edition of this post. There are just so many excellent apps, but not enough space to write about them all. :)

Re: The Fattest States in the US

wardslave — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:48:58 -0000

Thank you for your thoughtful and interesting comment, Wellescent. As my outpatient clinic is in an impoverished area, it would be difficult for me to evaluate education level or similar social factors with relation to obesity. I do have quite an overweight/obese patient census, but also wonder whether this is an effect of serving in an obese nation. My inpatient population covers the spectrum of super-poor to super-wealthy, but again, the overwhelming number of impoverished patients makes it difficult for me to assess any relationship with social status. This would nevertheless be an interesting study to perform.

Re: The SYNTAX Trial: CABG or PCI?

wardslave — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:16:18 -0000

I appreciate your comment, but this is a question more appropriate for your primary care physician or cardiologist. The answer will depend on several variables, such as your medical history and the types of procedures you underwent. You would be best served by someone who knows you and has examined you. Best wishes.

Re: Grand Rounds 3.27

wardslave — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:31:38 -0000

Grand Rounds is a collection of posts from medical / health blogs that are published weekly (Tuesdays) by a rotating host. You can see the schedule at the following site:

http://blogborygmi.blogspot...

Each host may present Grand Rounds in its own style. In the case above, the Grand Rounds was hosted by Medviews and the posts were divided into the three categories you mentioned. You may want to explore other versions of the Grand Rounds (via the link above) to get a feel for how they are presented.

On the other hand, if you plan on submitting an article to the host of an upcoming Grand Rounds, the categories / format is unimportant. The host will take care of that. Besides, the presentation style is unknown until the Grand Rounds is posted.

I hope this helps. If not, feel free to respond and I will try to clarify any confusion.

Re: Doctors and Medical Students on Twitter

wardslave — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:29:54 -0000

I'm a late-comer to Twitter, but here it is: http://www.twitter.com/onth... :)

Re: Comparing Strategies for Weight Loss Maintenance

wardslave — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:14:46 -0000

No worries. Thank you for stopping by!

Re: On The Wards » Blog Archive » Image of A True Airhead (Pneumocephalus)

wardslave — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:12:22 -0000

There are also other instances of air acting as a foreign body. Air in the chest cavity can cause a pneumothorax, and air in the blood are termed "air emboli". Prophylaxis against the latter is the reason syringes are flushed prior to injection (this is frequently seen on television, when the mad professor holds the syringe vertically and squirts out a few milliliters of toxin prior to injecting his victim).

An interesting aspect of this case is that a source for the air has not been definitively identified, although the mastoid bone defect would be a plausible point of entry. The report did not comment on leaking CSF (cerebrospinal fluid), particularly with the increase in intracranial pressure (ICP) generated by the air mass. On the other hand, it is possible that miniscule amounts of CSF in the mastoid cavities would be difficult to detect amid all the blood and CSF draining everywhere during neurosurgery.

Re: Comparing Strategies for Weight Loss Maintenance

wardslave — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:23:11 -0000

You're right, Rene! And as mentioned above, activity levels achieved during phase 1 (weight loss period) approached pre-study levels by the end of phase 2 (weight maintenance period).

Re: Obesity? Blame It on Bacteria

wardslave — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 20:50:42 -0000

Emma, it would indeed be interesting to study bacterial colonization patterns in the gut following a course of probiotics. Could the introduction of exogenous bacteria selectively alter natural flora? If so, then would this lead to big pharma or the food industry someday marketing "fat-fighting" yogurt?

Re: Obesity? Blame It on Bacteria

wardslave — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 22:57:36 -0000

Thank you for your comment, Donald. You bring up a good point. Given all the factors correlated with an increase in BMI (body mass index), obesity is multifactorial in origin. But, who knows where in the spectrum of cause-or-effect the bacterial flora lie?

In a society where dietary indulgence is common, it is easy to shift the blame to a medical--and therefore, uncontrollable--cause. I still believe diet and exercise should be first-line in the management of obesity. Other options (i.e., drugs, gastric bypass) can then be explored in refractory cases. I wonder about colonic cleansing though, and the potential adverse effect of subsequent C. difficile colonization.

An interesting read would be an article published last week in Science:

Frayling TM, et al. A Common Variant in the FTO Gene Is Associated with Body Mass Index and Predisposes to Childhood and Adult Obesity.