Comments: 0 - Date: August 31st, 2007 - Categories: Uncategorized

Pulled from the Brink: Remember the girl who survived rabies? How's she doing? Very well:


Twenty-seven months after exposure, the patient continued to have fluctuating dysarthria and gait difficulties, plus an intermittent sensation of cold in the feet. She had no difficulties with her instrumental activities of daily living, including driving. In high school, she took college-level courses in English, physics, and calculus. She scored above average on a national college achievement test, graduated from high school in 2007, and planned to attend a local college in the fall. She had no problems with peer relations or mood disorders.

Alas, others have been unable to duplicate the success of her treatment, so if you are bitten by a bat be sure to get your rabies shots.

Comments: 0 - Date: August 31st, 2007 - Categories: Uncategorized

Remembering Katrina: The medical feats we didn't hear about:

Besides rescuers and local first responders, another big story at the Dome was the medical center. Like a Chinook helicopter landing on your roof, that sure was hard to miss. Fifteen doctors and a total of 65 medical personnel set up at the New Orleans Arena, within spitting distance of the Dome. It was primarily for survivors brought in by air and boat, but also for people in the Superdome with medical problems. There was never any shortage of medical care, Dressler and Bush both said.

The Arena medical center cycled through triage and treatment of up to 5,000 injured or sick victims, Dressler said. Those in the worst shape were evacuated to the New Orleans airport and out of the region, those in good shape hydrated and sent to the Superdome. The success of the makeshift medical center was such that there were just six deaths at the entire Superdome complex: four of natural causes, one drug overdose, and one suicide during the week of supposedly rampant anarchy and death.

Triage (there was another medical facility at the airport) may have been the most critical element in limiting deaths once the levees broke and the city flooded. Rescue operations were brisk, but survivors of that kind of trauma aren't always coherent or aware of their own life-threatening injuries, particularly dehydration. Absent care, hundreds if not thousands could have died even after they were rescued and brought to the Dome.

Most of the national media also neglected to mention the seven babies that National Guard physicians delivered, something Maj. Ed Bush said he pointed out repeatedly. Overall, the false claims of up to 200 dead at the Dome, including murder victims, had clueless FEMA officials showing up at the end of the week with a refrigerated 18-wheeler to claim the stacks of bodies.

And questions unanswered.

Mississippi dubious winner of fattest state contest

Comments: 0 - Date: August 29th, 2007 - Categories: Uncategorized

This LAT article is representative of many articles this week that reports on a study issued by Trust for America's Health regarding how America is losing the battle against obesity, state by state.  The actual study can be found here on Trust for America’s website.  The site also has an interactive feature that shows state by state results and information.

The results show that Mississippi is the number 1 state in obesity with a whopping 30% of its residents classified as obese.  The District of Columbia holds the dubious position of number 1 for childhood obesity with 22.8 % of its children obese.

The LAT article quotes Jim Marks, a senior vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a healthcare philanthropy group that sponsored the study as follows:

“The report is a devastating indictment and the nation is in the middle of a public health crisis that is deteriorating rapidly, and we are treating it like an inconvenience.”

“These children could be the first generation to live sicker and die younger than their parents,"

“Obesity costs $117 billion a year in preventable healthcare expenditures and "is pushing the healthcare system to the breaking point.”

The LAT article also makes clear that the data is based on self reporting, hence the results are probably much worse and people do tend to understate their weight.

This report is no surprise.  America seems content to ignore the obesity epidemic.  But by ignoring it, we will pay as individuals and collectively as a society in higher health costs and a lower quality of life.

Comments: 0 - Date: August 27th, 2007 - Categories: Uncategorized

Seeking Perfection: The stressed out world of opera singers:

Singers often overuse steroids in the form of cortisone to control inflamed vocal cords — sometimes in amounts that can permanently impair their abilities, say performers and their doctors. Others drink too much. Still others snort cocaine, according to insiders.

That post nasal drip which is just a minor annoyance for most of us, can be devastating for a singer, especially an opera singer who can't hide behind the drums and bass guitar. If someone could come up with a sure-fire cure (that didn't have the side effects and health hazards of steroids) he'd make a lot of money.

Comments: 0 - Date: August 27th, 2007 - Categories: Uncategorized

American Medical Reform: The American Medical Association's recommendations for health insurance reform.

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