Top articles in medicine in May 2012

Here are my suggestions for some of the top articles in medicine in May 2012:

The primary care doctor is a rapidly evolving species - and in the future could become an endangered one - NEJM http://goo.gl/BPcVB

Japanese rail workers have to pass a daily smile scan. Even a faux smile may increase happiness - Lancet http://goo.gl/DKwD9

Mental Illness: "Checklist diagnoses" cost less in time and money but fail compared to comprehensive evaluation - NEJM http://goo.gl/uOmcd

Only 50% of people with major depression in the general population receive any treatment for depression http://goo.gl/IfCCq

Natalizumab-Associated Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML) - NEJM lists the risk factors http://goo.gl/J71JA

Azithromycin and the Risk of Cardiovascular Death - NEJM: 7 additional cardiovascular deaths per 1 million courses; patients in the highest decile of risk for cardiovascular disease had an estimated 245 additional cardiovascular deaths per 1 million courses. http://goo.gl/QITcP

Coffee consumption was inversely associated with total and cause-specific mortality. Whether this was a causal or associational finding cannot be determined - NEJM http://goo.gl/0EMJF

The Right Way to Try to Buy Happiness: By using money to create memories with your family, build things with your hands or even sleep more, you stand a pretty good chance of being happier. http://goo.gl/FO2I5

Up to 21% of adults will develop tinnitus - 2% of population have severely impaired quality of life because of it http://goo.gl/q1Yuc

Aspirin Prevents the Recurrence of Venous Thromboembolism, with no increase in risk of major bleeding - NEJM http://goo.gl/3sqDu

Women who worked the night shift were 40% more likely to develop breast cancer http://goo.gl/VQPQt

Hyperglycemia on admission predicts death in patients with community acquired pneumonia without pre-existing diabetes http://goo.gl/edAwQ

How can I treat toenail fungus? Ask Doctor K from Harvard Medical School http://goo.gl/9pdj9

The articles were selected from my Twitter and Google Reader streams. Please feel free to send suggestions for articles to clinicalcases@gmail.com and you will receive acknowledgement in the next edition of this publication.

The evolution of a physician's blog

Dr. Smith presents his research poster, which charts the tremendous growth of his eponymous blog, Dr Smith’s ECG blog. The blog is practically free to maintain, hosted by Google's service, Blogger.com, and will break 1,000,000 page views this year. The site itself represents a living and breathing, dynamic textbook: http://hqmeded-ecg.blogspot.com



Dr. Stephen W. Smith is a faculty physician in the Emergency Medicine Residency at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) in Minneapolis, MN, and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Minnesota.

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.

Healthcare CIO: On Turning 50 

From John D. Halamka, MD: The difference between an expert and novice is not the detail they notice, but what they choose to ignore. For example, when I do a toxicology consult, I focus less on the exact subspecies of mushroom the patient has ingested, and more on ensuring it is not one of the few that kill humans. http://goo.gl/UXJe4

No one remembers the details of last year's urgencies. What really matters is happiness at home. Jobs may change but family is forever.

The End of House, MD.

Dr. Wes predicts bleak future: Yes, the image of Gregory House MD must end, because like Marcus Welby, MD, he no longer exists. That’s because instead of “House,” our medicine is now morphing into the “Office.” http://goo.gl/JxffI

A weekend with grandmaster

From ShadowFax ER blogger: He chose to dedicate his life to the study and preservation of the traditional Okinawan martial arts as a young man. He is, it seems, as old as the hills and as enduring. He is pushing 80, but still as tough as nails. Standing a diminutive 5'0", he can toss young men about like rag dolls, despite the fact that they have 12 inches of height, 60 lbs, and 50 less years of age on them. And his bones are so dense that blocking his punches feels like smashing your forearms into a cement wall. http://goo.gl/JixZ0

A Personal Rapid Learning System

From Social QI blog, here is how to assemble your Personal Rapid Learning System http://goo.gl/hPXuc:

1. Cast an information net. The tools include: saved Pubmed searches and Google alerts (and now RSS feeds and other channels).

2. Build a network of people in the know through LinkedIn and Twitter.

3. Narrate your learning and experiences. Share what you know and what you need to learn.

The pros/cons of using social media in biomedicine 

This is a presentation by one of the best thinkers about Web 2.0 use in medicine, Dean Giustini http://goo.gl/neenB:

Social media in health & medicine 2012 workshop

View more PowerPoint from Dean Giustini

Dean is UBC Biomedical Branch librarian at Vancouver hospital. He teaches at the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, and the School of Population and Public Health.

ENT blog reaches 5 million web visits - their YouTube channel received 230 million views http://goo.gl/0nlFg

Is Acetaminophen Safe For Children With Asthma? Interpreting the Medical Literature Is Complex, says pediatric pulmonologist Dr. Canapari. The jury is still out on this topic. Hopefully large-scale trials will help answer the question conclusively. http://goo.gl/mxNpv

Comments from Twitter:

Mike Cadogan @sandnsurf: Reading: Best of Medical Blogs - weekly review and blog carnival. More fantastic links form @DrVes

Top articles in medicine in May 2012

Here are my suggestions for some of the top articles in medicine in May 2012:

Large numbers of very rare genetic mutations may underlie common human diseases like schizophrenia and cancer http://goo.gl/GttAQ

14 Ways Social Media May Soon Change Your Doctor's Visit http://goo.gl/muWK1

Drunk driving across the globe: many countries have “no tolerance” laws with 0.0% blood alcohol limit http://goo.gl/aIsRn

Top 10 Cloud-Based EHRs - CureMD and Practice Fusion (the only free EMR) scored best http://goo.gl/jWMuu

Pets at birth either decreased or had no effect on allergic disease up to age 12. No evidence that exposure to cats or dogs at birth increases the risk of allergic disease in high risk children http://goo.gl/MS4iW

Cleveland Clinic starts a blog called "Health Hub" http://goo.gl/66FF0 - competing with the aging consumer portal of MayoClinic.com

CT colonography is accurate in detecting adenomas 10 mm or larger but less so for smaller lesions http://goo.gl/gMTiX -- Laxative-free colonoscopy on the way? Virtual colonoscope digitally removes stool from the colon http://goo.gl/sJG6H

Do we need vacations? Vacations improve employee wellbeing but the positive effect is short-lived (study) http://goo.gl/jd3CH

NRMP to Implement “All-in” Policy for 2013 Match http://goo.gl/tn5Cs

New labeling will help you pick the best sunscreen - Consumer Reports http://goo.gl/Wtm3M

U.S. politicians invoke the “R word” - rationing for healthcare - NEJM http://goo.gl/Urhua

Pepsi and Competitors Scramble as Soda Sales Drop in the U.S. Average American drank less than 2 sodas/day in 2011, a drop in per capita consumption of 16% since the peak in 1998. Sugary soft drinks are the No. 1 source of calories in U.S. diets - NYTimes http://goo.gl/9tjdD

"Z-Pak Heart Attack" - sudden death may be a new (rare) risk linked to commonly prescribed antibiotic azithromycin http://goo.gl/3DeIh

Coffee Drinkers May Live Longer - there are 1,000 or more compounds in coffee - NYT and NEJM http://goo.gl/VSfbN

Using Internet Search Engines to Obtain Medical Information: users preferred Bing over Google in this study http://goo.gl/mJgpm

The articles were selected from my Twitter and Google Reader streams. Please feel free to send suggestions for articles to clinicalcases@gmail.com and you will receive acknowledgement in the next edition of this publication.

Comments from Twitter:

Mike Cadogan @sandnsurf: Reading: Top articles in medicine in May 2012 bit.ly/KUxEhs via @DrVes ...more great articles from the world of medicine

Karim Jessa @karimjessa: great stuff! thanks dr @DrVes

Healthcare social media #HCSM - top articles

Here are my suggestions for some of the top articles related to healthcare social media in the past 2 weeks:

Understanding Research Impact http://goo.gl/2ZHCK and 20 Strategies To Enhance The Impact Of Your Research http://goo.gl/49MLb

BMJ Learning gets social - British Medical Journal platform learns new tricks in this brave new social media world http://goo.gl/4vncy

Doctors' Use of iPads Becoming Mainstream (not my impression). Also, physician-only social networks remain stagnant http://goo.gl/9QfDf

Heart Rhythm Society 2012 Scientific Session in the Age of Twitter http://goo.gl/FGH10

"Healthcare Going To The Dogs" - a video for training hospital administrators http://goo.gl/hv40a and http://goo.gl/xsW4J

Cleveland Clinic starts a blog called "Health Hub" http://goo.gl/66FF0 - competing with the aging consumer portal of MayoClinic.com

JAMA will link 10 AMA journals like a group blog - all names will start with “JAMA”, for example, Archives of Surgery will become “JAMA Surgery” http://goo.gl/FJLL2

Cultivate followers on social media if you want to communicate science

From the blogs Soapbox Science http://goo.gl/cPQq1 and Medical Museion http://goo.gl/QmEU7 :

"Social media platforms can be very limiting. For example, can you define genotype and phenotype in 140 characters or less? If you want to use social media to communicate effectively, you need to drive readers somewhere.

Writing a blog gives substance to your social media presence. You have the opportunity to talk about science in a meaningful way, which ultimately helps people better understand the world around them. Answering those questions is probably why you got into science in the first place. Don’t be afraid to share what you’ve discovered."

The articles were selected from my Twitter and Google Reader streams. Please feel free to send suggestions for articles to allergycases@gmail.com and you will receive acknowledgement in the next edition of this publication.