code blog: tales of a nurse

Welcome to this edition of Grand Rounds! I haven't hosted since last year, but this is codeblog's 3rd time around. Without further ado, here we go:

What Is Inside of Dr. Charles?
THE EXAMINING ROOM OF DR. CHARLES—One man's perspective on the cacophonous coffin.

Breaking The News To Your Thanksgiving Turkey That It May Not Make It To The Holidays
DOC AROUND THE CLOCK—Is the Chinese Health Ministry lying about the true number of cases of avian flu? What impact will this have on a potential epidemic?

Founder of Modern Alienism First to Describe Down's Syndrome
MEDGADGET—Had John Haydon Langdon-Down known that his syndromic namesake had been described almost 30 years earlier by Jean Etienne Dominique Esquirol, I suppose we would be calling it Esquirol Syndrome. Doesn't have quite the same ring, though.

Tamiflu Causing Delirium, Hallucinations, Encephalitis...
DR. ANDY—...Oh wait, but so can having the flu. Is olsetamivir safe?

Nurse Realizes Her Family Has No Idea What Her Job Entails
HEAD NURSE—Nurses see death and the dead day in and day out. It's an experience that our friends and family can't fully relate to. So the next time we come home sad - realize that maybe we had to help usher someone from this world to the next. How would you feel about such a responsiblity?

Homeless Alcoholic Finds Refuge in Non-Judgemental ER
EMERGIBLOG—After sleeping in the rain for 4 hours, this patient lucks into an emergency physician who practices compassionate medicine.

White Coat, Wrong Time
SCIENCE CREATIVE QUARTERLY—Do you wear your scrubs/lab coat out in public places? Do you work in a level 3 lab? I sure hope not.

Medicare Part D(isaster)
OVER MY MED BODY—Listen, people - the government likes to make things HARD. "It is going to take time for seniors to become comfortable with the drug benefit." Sure, but it shouldn't take the rest of their lives. When you're done being confused reading about Part D, go ahead and take a practice run.

Eliza Jane Died of AIDS... But Parvovirus B19 is Still A Possibility
RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE—Let's see - the first 10 differential diagnoses are AIDS, but there's always someone out there looking for zebras in a land of horses.

Headway Made On Vaccine For Ancient Disease
AETIOLOGY—Inadequate vaccines could increase the virulence of malaria, but once they figure out that pesky little issue I'm sure the malaria vaccine will be a big hit.

Termination or Reassurance/Preparation?
RED STATE MORON—Results of the FASTER study are out - testing for Down's at 11 weeks is just as accurate as testing for it at 20 weeks. Even if women with "positive screens" opt to use that information to prepare rather than terminate, will that peg them as unethical - knowingly bringing a less-than-perfect child into the world?

When The Pandemic Hits, Make Sure You Bring Your Lawyer When You Get Your Vaccination
GRUNT DOC—There's only one manufacturer in all of the US that can produce influenza vaccine. Hmmmm... I wonder why that is.

37 Year Old Woman Nearly Dies From Heart Attack. Doctors Stunned.
CLINICAL CASES AND IMAGES—The number one cause of death in women is cardiovascular disease - not breast cancer. Follow the link on this blog to read about a young woman who always thought she'd die of cancer, but instead almost died of heart disease.

Nurses "In The Weeds"
PIXEL RN—Even the most experienced nurses find themselves in the weeds. But what if you aren't experienced?

Monsters In The Bedpan Room
IMPACT ED NURSE—We nurses come across all manner of ... fluids. Here's what happens when the fluids leave your room and come into ours.

Just Chill With The Antibiotics Already
PARALLEL UNIVERSES—Do we need yet another reason for judicious use of antibiotics? Make sure to read the follow up post for clarification/correction of several erroneous news articles.

Blogger Instrumental In Changing Someone's Life
DIABETES MINE—How many of you bloggers out there can honestly say that you've changed someone's life?

Doctors Behaving Badly
THE CHEERFUL ONCOLOGIST—What really happens during the "sign out."

Insurance Companies Come Between Patients and Their Doctors
HEALTHY CONCERNS—"You know you've got a disconnect when the doctor asks: 'would you be willing to pay for service?' and I ask:'Aren't I already paying? Where's my $3K going then?'"

What A Sweet Job These Docs Must Have
HEALTH BUSINESS BLOG—Call up a random doctor and then hang out for 3 hours waiting to actually speak to someone.

News Flash: Press Lacks Nuance and Perspective In Reporting on Medicine and Health
NOTES FROM DR. RW—Irresponsible reporting confuses consumers. What could save your life one day could harm you the next.

The Genomic Revolution Persists Despite Pessimistic Review in WSJ
GENETICS AND PUBLIC HEALTH BLOG—Using gene research to tailor someone's medical treatment is futuristic - but does the complexity mean we should stop trying?

Sometimes It's Actually About Helping People
HOSPITAL IMPACT—In a world where the bottom line is usually the only line, some hospitals and clinics are going against the grain.

What Will They Write Next
POLITICAL CALCULATIONS—These are the kinds of things written when one has been up all night. Maybe this is why it's so hard to get one's medical records

Do You Really Want To Know How Much That Urinalysis Costs?
INSUREBLOG—An interview with Aetna's "go-to guy" about their new program to inform insureds about common medical costs.

Peer Review Goes Online
SUMER'S RADIOLOGY SITE—Let's just get rid of those silly little paper journals.

Harvey Cushing: A Life in Surgery
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS—Isn't it amazing that someone had to come up with the concept of monitoring blood pressure during surgery?

Whew! Tune in next week when Graham at Over My Med Body will be hosting!

Nick at Blogborygmi is of course the "father" of Grand Rounds. He's been very diligent in trying to get the word out about our weekly compendium. Most recently, that has included writing an article for Medscape (registration required) called "Pre-Rounds," where you can find out all kinds of information about that week's host and their blog. This week the article is all about codeblog - how this site came to be and what my master plan is all about. :) Welcome, Medscape readers!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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