Conditions

This pediatrician says no coronavirus break playdates

Conditions
March 16, 2020

Strange times right now, huh?

The spread of COVID-19 is expected to be massive because the virus is sneaky

I live in Maryland, and our schools are shut down statewide due to coronavirus (COVID-19).

That means that since I’m a pediatrician, I’ve been peppered with questions from patients, family, and friends wondering what they’re going to do with the kids for at least two weeks (and, realistically, probably four or more).

They’re all asking …

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A pathologist’s message to the public

Conditions
March 16, 2020

14 years ago, I recited the Hippocratic Oath, and two sections have always stuck with me:

“Into whatsoever houses I enter, I will enter to help the sick” and “I will use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment.”

The events over the last couple of weeks have affected me deeply.  Of course, I’m concerned about a novel virus that is infecting and killing people.  But, I’m more …

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I thought COVID-19 was overblown. I was wrong.

Conditions
March 16, 2020

I’ll admit that a month ago, I thought COVID-19 was going to be another overblown SARS or MERS or even H1N1. I talked about it with my friends in the medical field, and we had a bit of a “been there, done that” attitude. But I was wrong, and in the time since, I’ve educated myself as much as possible. This strain of coronavirus is more contagious than the flu, …

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A COVID-19 physician pep talk

Conditions
March 16, 2020

All hands on deck! No one sits this one out. We are all MD/DOs. We all took the same oath, and in unison. Year after year, we graduate as our parents and grandparents shed tears of joy. In those years of sleep-depriving, relationship-straining, self-confidence-trying medical school and residency: We dissected everything.  The human body, the human heart (the non-anatomical one), and even what it means to follow that damn oath. …

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A COVID-19 coronavirus update from concerned physicians

Conditions
March 14, 2020

“Everything we do before a pandemic will seem alarmist. Everything we do after will seem inadequate.”
– Michael Leavitt

Why are we writing this?

The COVID-19 pandemic has reached a point where containment is no longer possible. The COVID-19 threat is real, and rapidly getting worse. Many of you are very nervous; some are unsure of the validity of the information you are reading. As physician leaders, we felt it was important to …

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A previously healthy clinician, now critically ill with COVID-19

Conditions
March 12, 2020

A New Jersey physician assistant who was the state’s first COVID-19 patient is speaking out from his hospital bed, calling his illness “severe” and raising concerns about his treatment.

James Cai, a 32-year-old non-smoker with no other health conditions, has been at Hackensack University Medical Center for about a week and says his illness has worsened significantly over that time.

“In the …

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Learn about Guillain-Barré syndrome with a Medcomic rap

Conditions
March 11, 2020
YouTube video

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy in which the body’s immune system attacks peripheral nerves. Clinical and epidemiological evidence seems to indicate that most cases are preceded by an infection such as Campylobacter jejuni enteritis, but in many cases, no cause is identified.

GBS is characterized by symmetrical muscle weakness that begins in the legs and ascends. The degree of weakness can vary from mild difficulty with ambulation …

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Do patients addicted to drugs truly have capacity?

Conditions
March 4, 2020

Is it time to rethink how we determine the capacity of our patients who are addicted to drugs?  I recently began debating this question after I took care of a young woman with endocarditis.  She had a long history of IV drug abuse that had led to the development of endocarditis.  She had been admitted one week earlier and was being prepared for surgery, but she left against medical advice …

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Seattle is at risk for explosive coronavirus growth

Conditions
March 4, 2020

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The coronavirus outbreak in the Seattle area is at a critical juncture and could see explosive growth in cases much like Wuhan, China, if public officials don’t take immediate, forceful measures, according to a new analysis of genetic data. The author of the analysis, a computational biologist named Trevor Bedford, said there are likely already at …

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Why does Generation Z require so many workplace accommodations?

Conditions
March 3, 2020

Recently the Wall Street Journal reported on how many young people are now seeking “accommodations” at work for their anxiety, PTSD, depression, and other mental conditions.

The article provoked a lively discussion split largely on age lines. While older people accuse Gen Z members of being “emotional hemophiliacs,” Gen Z members often say they have real, palpable “mental illnesses” and need extra time to complete their …

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Our seniors deserve better. It’s time we all paid more attention.

Conditions
March 2, 2020

Most Canadians are familiar with nursing homes or long-term care facilities that provide 24-hour care to seniors who are no longer able to care for themselves independently – but we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about them. Given our rapidly aging population, and the likelihood that someone we love, or maybe even ourselves, will be living there one day, maybe we should.

What might surprise …

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Confessions of a bed-sharing pediatrician mom

Conditions
February 26, 2020

I remember lying in my bed after my second delivery in severe pain. With my first delivery, I had already endured a C-section. Four years later, I wanted to experience a “natural” delivery. I opted for a vaginal delivery after C-section (VBAC).

The VBAC quickly turned into an emergency where the maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) physician gave me two options: Get this baby out now or emergent C-section.

My mind flashed back to …

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What happens when abortion services aren’t available

Conditions
February 17, 2020

In my very first job as a doctor — working in a London hospital in the 1980s. I always took a ridiculously detailed past medical history for every patient I saw. I started to notice how many elderly women had had septicemia, a life-threatening infection in which enormous amounts of bacteria enter the bloodstream.

The neighborhood surrounding the hospital had once been the worst slum in London. And it didn’t take …

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