The fourth rule of Expensive Scare Medicine is: ‘If you measure something and it is not normal, make it normal if it is safe to do so’. But beware! This can lead to a dangerous and insatiable desire for ‘euboxia’ – the pathophysiological state whereby ‘all boxes on a pathology print-out are in the normal range’.
Oncology Quandary 003
January 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment
A 26 year-old male, with no previous history of seizures, was BIBA with status epilepticus. He was intubated to facilitate seizure management with a propofol and clonazepam infusion….
UCEM welcomes Prof Stickler
January 6, 2010 By 4 Comments
With the students mental welfare in mind, Prof Stickler uses his wry and perceptive sense of humour to great effect. For example, in the chapter on Bayesian inference his uproarious quote “10100111101101011101110001100110001100101011011010101010110100110000112” is still considered an exemplar of Euclidean literary miscellany within niche binary enclaves around the world.
Top ED iPhone Apps
January 5, 2010 By 2 Comments
Now that pretty much everyone on the ‘Life in the Fast Lane’ team has an iPhone (some of us more belatedly than others) its time to throw out a few of our favourite Apps… In no particular order. Some more obvious than others. Some more medical than others!
Keeping Up
January 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Swine Flu Saves Lives?
January 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Elbow Dislocation
January 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Elbow dislocations constitute 10% to 25% of all injuries to the elbow. The elbow is one of the most commonly dislocated joints in the body, with an average annual incidence of acute dislocation of 6 per 100,000 persons.
The Patient is Ballooning Up…
January 4, 2010 By 2 Comments
A 36 year-old immunosuppressed male was infected with swine-origin influenza virus requiring mechanical ventilation. Overnight the inspiratory pressures needed to maintain his tidal volume had progressively increased and his face had become markedly swollen.
UCEM says No to Softness
January 3, 2010 By 1 Comment
The Utopian College of Emergency for Medicine (UCEM) is proud to announce a new policy pertaining to the discipline of peri-departmental medicine. Until now, the softest admissions – such as the Patient Without Discernible Pathology (PWDP) – have been the toughest dispositions.
