Chest X-ray fused with images of coronal CT showing mediastinal anatomy pic.twitter.com/XGoAeyli0a
— theRadiologist (@radiologistpage) July 2, 2021
life underwriting
Was SARS-COV-2 the Reason Why People Forgot How to Drive?
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its 2020 annual traffic crash data, showing that 38,824 lives were lost in traffic crashes nationwide. That number marks the highest number of fatalities since 2007.
https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/nhtsa-releases-2020-traffic-crash-data
In Pandemic Year One we had the highest number of traffic fatalities since 2007.
Correlation is not causation. The post title is a click bait joke.
Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC)
Patients treated for Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) face a five-year recurrence rate of 40% — markedly higher than the recurrence rates for melanoma and other skin cancers, according to research published today in JAMA Dermatology.
University of Washington School of Medicine/UW Medicine. “Patients with rare skin cancer face 40% recurrence rate.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220223111226.htm (accessed February 24, 2022).
Covid Protocols
COVIDprotocols.org was launched by a team from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) in March, 2020 to create open access adaptable protocols for the management of COVID19 patients, based on BWH guidelines and multidisciplinary committee discussions. In spring of 2020, Partners In Health (PIH) also published the guides for COVID-19, focused on COVID-19 care in resource-limited settings. In December, 2020, COVIDprotocols.org partnered with UCSF’s Institute for Global Health Sciences and Partners in Health (PIH) to combine the best content from UCSF’s USAID-STAR sponsored OpenCriticalCare.org and the PIH COVID19 Guides to create COVIDprotocols.org v2.0. This updated resource for COVID-19 includes content relevant to all practice settings and presents information in ways to facilitate easier utilization in learning and practice. The BWH-specific protocols still exist and are available at BWH.covidprotocols.org.
https://covidprotocols.org/en/about/
I like the dashboard https://opencriticalcare.org/covid-dashboard/
Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor and this blog and the information contained herein are intended and designed for educational purposes only. DO NOT rely on this information to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, and/or treatment protocols.
Long Term Cannabis Use and Lung Damage
The findings come from the long-running Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, which has documented cannabis use and measured lung function throughout adult life up to age 45 in more than 1000 individuals born in Dunedin in 1972/73.
University of Otago. “How long-term cannabis use can damage lungs.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220203192317.htm (accessed February 4, 2022).
Inhaling hot smoke into your lungs over a long period of time. What could possibly go wrong?
The App That Helps Me Be a More Patient Centered Physician — A Country Doctor Writes:
One of the most rewarding things I do in my clinic happens on my iPhone. When I sit down with a middle aged patient to talk about their cardiovascular risk, I open the risk calculator created by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. I talk my way through as I enter […]
The App That Helps Me Be a More Patient Centered Physician — A Country Doctor Writes:
The risk calculator is quite useful but I re-blogged this post for its link to the Hale study, which was news to me. This study published in 2004 showed older people between the ages of 70 and 90 who followed a Mediterranean diet have 50% lower rate of all-cause and cause-specific mortality than people who dine on the SAD Western diet. The four primary risk factors were diet, moderate alcohol intake, physical activity, and non-smoking.
Lifestyle matters.
Why Do They Call Chickenpox Chickenpox?
The Bubble Wrap Plus is a monthly paediatric journal club reading list from Anke Raaijmakers working with Professor Jaan Toelen & his team of the University Hospitals in Leuven. This comprehensive list of ‘articles to read’ comes from 34 journals, including Pediatrics, The Journal of Pediatrics, Archives of Disease in Childhood, JAMA Pediatrics, Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, NEJM, and many more.
Anke Raaijmakers . Bubble Wrap PLUS – January 2022, Don’t Forget the Bubbles, 2022. Available at: https://doi.org/10.31440/DFTB.47066
Just one of the many interesting articles and studies you’ll find at this website. I’ve already earmarked a few for my weekend reading.
Another Sweet Sunday – 12.12.21
RESULTS During 170,148 person-years (PY) (median follow-up 8.5 years), 283 individuals died: 133 with type 1 (103.0/100,000 PY), 55 with type 2 (161.5/100,000 PY), 87 with secondary (1,952/100,000 PY), and 8 with other/unknown diabetes type (312.3/100,000 PY). SMRs (standardized mortality ratios) (95% CI) for the first three groups were 1.5 (1.2–1.8), 2.3 (1.7–3.0), and 28.0 (22.4–34.6), respectively. Diabetes was the underlying cause of death for 42.1%, 9.1%, and 4.6% of deaths, respectively. The SMR was greater for type 2 than for type 1 diabetes (P < 0.001). SMRs were significantly higher for individuals with type 1 diabetes who were <20 years of age, non-Hispanic White and Hispanic, and female and for individuals with type 2 diabetes who were <25 years of age, from all race/ethnic minority groups, and from both sexes.
Demographic Correlates of Short-Term Mortality Among Youth and Young Adults With Youth-Onset Diabetes Diagnosed From 2002 to 2015: The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study — Diabetes Care 2021 Dec; 44(12): 2691-2698. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc21-0728
CONCLUSIONS In the Danish population screened for diabetes with HbA1c, the highest risk of MACE (major adverse cardiovascular event) and all-cause mortality was found in subjects with HbA1c just below the diagnostic threshold for diabetes. Our results highlight the need for increased focus on the treatment of cardiovascular risk factors for subjects with prediabetes.
Prediabetes Defined by First Measured HbA1c Predicts Higher Cardiovascular Risk Compared With HbA1c in the Diabetes Range: A Cohort Study of Nationwide Registries — Diabetes Care 2021 Dec; 44(12): 2767-2774. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc21-1062
5 Worst States for All-Cause Mortality
Differences between actual mortality and expected mortality range from a drop of about 36%, in Connecticut to an excess of 50%, in one state in the West. The median difference is an excess of 10.5%.
5 Worst States for All-Cause Mortality, Already — https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2021/12/02/5-worst-states-for-all-cause-mortality-already/
The slideshow for the five states didn’t work for me but the article also contains a data table for all 50 states.
I was surprised Oklahoma was not one of the five worst states.
Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) – a Primer
The incidence of TIA in the United States is estimated to be 200,000-500,000 per year, with a prevalence of 5 million individuals, but is likely underreported.2 Stroke is preceded by TIA in 12-30% of patients and is the 5th leading cause of death in the US, contributing significantly to long term disability.2,3 Strokes occur more commonly in men than women, but women experience more severe morbidity.2,3 Stroke prevalence increases with age and occurs more frequently in black and Hispanic populations.3 It should also be noted that 90% of strokes worldwide occur in the setting of potentially modifiable risk factors which presents an incredible opportunity for early intervention, especially following TIA.2
TIA: Emergency Department Evaluation and Disposition — http://www.emdocs.net/tia-emergency-department-evaluation-and-disposition/?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tia-emergency-department-evaluation-and-disposition
lifeunderwriter.net 
You must be logged in to post a comment.