Cancer screening is of little benefit in persons with dementia but can cause very serious harms. Older persons with dementia have limited life expectancies which makes any benefit from cancer screening very unlikely. This is because cancer screening works by identifying a cancer many years (generally at least 5-10 years) before it would threaten health.
But cancer screening tests cause lots of burdens when given to persons with dementia. The …
We all know that physician-patient communication is important. Poor communication, not deficient clinical skill, is the primary driver of malpractice suits; conversely, good clinical communication alone can improve patient outcomes. For example, patients of physicians with superior communication skills have been shown to have superior blood pressure control. Fortunately, physicians generally recognize the significance of good communication, and often take the time to ensure that it happens. Yet there …
Today in clinic, I interviewed a formerly morbidly obese woman. She has lost almost 300 pounds since undergoing gastric bypass surgery a few years ago, a presentation that has become increasingly common. She was here to see the plastic surgeon for her four week follow up appointment, status post abdominal skin flap removal.
See, after losing a ton of weight, loose skin remains, especially in places like the arms and abdomen. …
Nathan Pritikin: 69. Robert Atkins: 72. Roy Walford: 79. Adelle Davis: 70. Aveline Kushi: 78. Marjorie Shostak: 51. Jack LaLanne: 96. Ancel Keys:100.
David Murdock is a billionaire who believes that he knows the formula for the perfect diet. Not only has he built his own research institute to refine his theories, but he is confident that his food choices will keep him alive to the age of 125. This would …
Involuntary commitment refers to hospitalizing people against their will for psychiatric reasons. It is a controversial topic because this is where medicine and civil liberties intersect: Physicians have the ability to take away the rights of fellow citizens. (I suspect that few people who become psychiatrists realize that making recommendations about involuntary commitment is part of the job. I certainly did not know this. I also did not appreciate the …
Watchful waiting has become a term often thought of as an alternative to surgery, radiation, or other interventions for early stage prostate cancer. Watchful waiting is actually a viable option for many other conditions too.
Most Mom’s know that tincture of time with watchful waiting lets their children have the opportunity to recover without intervention for many minor injuries and illnesses without exposing them to the risks associated with antibiotics or …
Emily Oster has a book coming out entitled Take Back Your Pregnancy. In preparation for the book launch, as most authors do, she wrote a nice piece in the Wall Street Journal about decision-making, risks, and how some of what OB/GYNs recommend during pregnancy isn’t always evidence based.
In particular, she mentions listeria, a bacteria that is a food borne illness with potentially devastating outcomes during pregnancy. Osher quotes the risk …
Patients are becoming more and more adept at taking control of their own health care, and this often involves seeking a second opinion of their presumptive diagnosis. However, in far too many cases in which cancer or precancerous conditions are diagnosed, the consultation is at the level of another treating physician, without confirmation that the patient’s pathologic diagnosis is correct. In cases where clinical management decisions and prognosis hinge on …
The intestines, particularly the large intestine, are teeming with bacteria. They are piled on each other as dense as the above photomicrograph shows. The huge majority of them are what we call friendly bacteria: they live inside us, feeding off the rich stew of food we eat, but cause no disease. In fact, their presence is important to our health because they crowd out bacteria that cause disease — the …
I remember how my son’s autism diagnosis was delivered. He was three years old. It wasn’t a surprise really, merely a confirmation of something that I expected and feared. He was already enrolled in speech and occupational therapy making very little progress. He saw a developmental specialist at age two and two and half who initially believed that he was not autistic but merely delayed with sensory issues. After we …
Routine screening blood tests for herpes are not recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. When I say routine screening I mean a scenario such as, “I want to get checked for everything, ok?”
Blood tests for herpes do have a place in specific clinical situations, but that’s for another post.
But say you did get a herpes blood test (even though it’s not recommended many people seem to get it done) …
As I shopped for a new car last year, I realized that my priorities were considered odd by most car salesmen. The three most important characteristics I desired in a new car were good gas mileage, good crash safety, and relatively low concentrations of “new car smells.” The often celebrated (but particularly noxious) new car smell is actually a synthetic blend of respiratory irritants and potential carcinogens off-gassing from the …
Sometimes it’s the simplest things that can make all the difference. Unfortunately, when it comes to informing patients with a new diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis what to expect, things are anything but simple.
For years, pulmonologists have dreaded the moment when we inform patients of a diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis. The discussion invariably involves informing them that this disease (which they have probably never heard of) may either kill them or …
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 38-year-old woman is evaluated for a 6-month history of progressive fatigue and dyspnea on exertion. Over the past 2 years she has noted episodes of hand swelling, joint pain, blue color change of her fingers with cold exposure, and difficulty swallowing. She takes no medications.
On physical examination, temperature is 36.9 °C (98.4 °F), …
Tests like cholesterol levels are considered screening tests because they are cost effective, have high sensitivities (a low rate of false negatives), and have been proven to be beneficial in the identification of conditions that may require treatment before symptoms occur. The vast majority of medical tests are not considered to be “screening” because they violate one or more of these principles, …
Typically, teen girls do not need a pelvic exam until they are 21. Most parents are surprised to hear this, especially if they know their teen is sexually active.
About 1/2 of teen girls are sexually active during high school which puts them at risk for sexually transmitted infections (STI) and unwanted pregnancy. However, for routine prevention and care, girls rarely need an internal pelvic or speculum exam during high school. …
I recently celebrated my birthday with a 9-hour picnic and for the first time in my life I was aware that some of my friends were starting to wear large hats and sunscreen. In fact, one of my friends was asking me about tinting her windows to block out excess sun.
Finally we are all now realizing what our mothers have been telling us since day 1 and what was popularized …
Next in a continuing series.
Let’s make it easy on ourselves. I haven’t yet established why — other than liking the particular operation — we’re removing this nice person’s colon. So since our patient has agreed to remain exposed and to do so for all to see, I declare s/he has diverticulitis. (Were it cancer, the operation would be largely the same, taking a bit more out.) Most likely …
Kathy wrote about her son: “What can cause a 9-year-old boy to poop in his pants occasionally and not feel it? He was completely potty trained at age three. I have found dirty underwear and poop on the bathroom floor–and it just concerns me that he is unaware of it. It has been suggested at checkups that he may be constipated. My mother suggests he may simply not be paying …
Our bodies are mostly water — about 60% water, in fact. This varies a little with age and sex, but it is a good rough estimate. Of that 60% water, about a third of it is outside the body’s cells, so-called extracellular fluid, and two thirds of it is inside the body’s cells, so-called intracellular fluid. The easiest way to remember this is the “60/40/20″ rule: total body water is …
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