Best of Medical Blogs - weekly review and blog carnival

The “Best of Medical Blogs - weekly review and blog carnival” is a weekly summary of the best posts from medical blogs. Feel free to send your suggestions to my email at clinicalcases@gmail.com. Best of Medical Blogs (BMB) is published every Tuesday, just like the old Grand Rounds.

The DSM-Tw: Handbook of Twitter Personality Types

Dr. Wes: In an effort to assist the American Psychiatric Association with the publication of the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) expected in May, 2013 it seemed only appropriate that a DSM-Tw (Twitter) supplement be provided to help classify newly emerging personality types on Twitter.

Example: 292.891 Caffeine-induced disorder: Newscycling Disorder - chronic obsession with Tweeting main stream media news stories. For instance, all topics that have an association with medicine are cited: even acne studies. Diagnostic finding: first to tweet the story so that others will "retweet" their tweet, as if it was their own. Gaining followers is the name of the game, so they occasionally venture off on tangents, like American Idol, or Justin Bieber. http://goo.gl/f7w6U

Who paid for that study?

From Dr. Jay Parkinson's blog: "When I read that something is good or bad for you, the first question I ask myself is “Who would pay for that study?” Here are a few examples: Is coffee good or bad for you? Is kale a better food for you than sprouts? Does Acai really prevent cancer? Read more here: http://goo.gl/gqS3T

Do you avoid using your iPhone’s medical apps in the hospital for social reasons?

An overcautious doctor: “Even though I have an iPhone, I don’t like to pull it out in the Hospital because I’m worried my patients or staff will think I’m playing games or using it for social reasons. When I have a book or manual in my hand, at least people can see what I’m doing”. http://goo.gl/O05pG

100% Patient Satisfaction Scores

Fauquier ENT Blog: Whether good or bad, patient satisfaction scores can be VERY misleading if not completely wrong... http://goo.gl/sOjvm

How significant is the lack of a reversal agents with the new blood thinners?

From the blog of the electrophysiologist Dr. John M: Dabigatran and rivaroxaban have no reversal agents; but their effects dissipate quickly. More than 50,000 AF patients have been enrolled in trials comparing novel blood thinners to warfarin, and in all three studies, a trend towards lower mortality was seen with the new blood thinners. This fact strongly suggests the lack of reversal agents may not be clinically significant. http://goo.gl/Q2Rui

"Hello Doctor. I Wouldn't Hesitate To Sue You"

From Freelance MD Blog: If you Google “how to sue a doctor,” an abundance of information follows. There’s an “ehow” on the subject, and even CNN offers an opinion. Any doctor has a 75% chance, give or take, that he or she will be named in at least one claim during their career. http://goo.gl/W64JZ

Medical School Life in Cambridge and Debrecen - @Berci compares the promotional videos http://goo.gl/BZm2w:

Medicine at Cambridge:



University of Debrecen Medical and Health Science Center:



Comments from Twitter:

Dr. Ellis @DrAnneEllis: Cute read, I'm sure we could come up with even more: The DSM-Tw: Handbook of Twitter Personality Types buff.ly/MC1338 via @DrVes