Mesothelioma brief review

November 29th, 2006

This is a paid review

Mesothelioma Aid

Mesothelioma Aid is a site for practical living with malignant mesothelioma. In addition to medical information, mesothelioma patients, their families, and their caregivers need support with real life and mesothelioma caregiving issues. Mesothelioma Aid’s focus is on providing answers to your questions and helping you best cope with what is ahead.

Fast Facts
Mesothelioma is an insidious neoplasm arising from the mesothelial surfaces of the pleural and peritoneal cavities, tunica vaginalis, or pericardium. 80 percent of this cases are from pleural origin. The major risk factor for malignant mesothelioma is inhalation of asbestos.

Since asbestos inhalation is the main risk factor, it’s considered as an occupational disease. The incidence in the U.S. is estimated to be 2,200 cases per year.

Asbestos is valued in industry for its resistance to heat and combustion and it’s still used in cement, ceiling and pool tiles, automobile brake linings, and in shipbuilding.

As many as eight million living persons in the U.S. have been occupationally exposed to asbestos over the past 50 years. Those workers in contact with asbestos are at significant risk for the development of both non malignant and malignant pulmonary disease.

  • Approximately 8 percent of asbestos workers will die of respiratory failure secondary to asbestosis.
  • The vast majority of cancers in asbestos workers involve the lung (mesothelioma for example).
  • The lifetime risk of developing mesothelioma among asbestos workers is thought to be as high as 10%.
  • There is a long latency of approximately 30 to 40 years from the time of asbestos exposure to the development of mesothelioma.
  • There appears to be a dose - response relationship between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma.
  • Asbestos exposure acts synergistically with cigarette smoking to increase the risk of developing lung cancer 60 times.

    • Clinical Presentation
    Malignant pleural mesothelioma most commonly presents in the 5th to 7th decades of life. A large proportion of patients diagnosed at an earlier age have a history of childhood exposure to asbestos.

    The most frequent presenting symptoms of pleural mesothelioma are dyspnea (difficulty in breathing) and nonpleuritic chest pain. Rarely, asymptomatic patients present with a unilateral pleural effusion that is found incidentally on routine chest radiograph.

    Common physical findings at the time of diagnosis include unilateral dullness to percussion at the lung base, palpable chest wall masses, and scoliosis towards the side of the malignancy.

    Clinical course
    This neoplasia exerts its morbidity and mortality via inexorable local invasion. Patients typically develop shortness of breath and chest pain as the tumor gradually obliterates the pleural space and replaces any pleural fluid. Local invasion of crucial thoracic structures can result in one or more of the following complications:

  • Dysphagia
  • Hoarseness
  • Cord compression
  • Brachial plexopathy
  • Horner’s syndrome
  • Superior vena cava syndrome

    • The survival of patients with mesothelioma is between 6 and 18 months, and is not significantly affected by currently available therapeutic interventions.

    With a brief review of this disease we can see that this isn’t a benign disease, that’s why I strongly recommend patients, their families, and their caregivers to visit Mesothelioma Aid for questions and support.

    Mesothelioma

    Posted in Fast Facts, Medlinks, Review | 3 Comments »

    Grand Rounds 3.10

    November 29th, 2006

    An outstanding edition of this week’s Grand Rounds is up at Notes from Dr. RW.

    Sit down and read the best of the medical blogsphere.

    Posted in Grand Rounds, Medlinks | No Comments »

    An oldman is declared dead by his odor

    November 28th, 2006

    Because of the stinky scent of his house and his absence in the streets nine days ago, neighbors of a mexican state called Aguascalientes, paramedics declared Jose Luis González dead.

    When paramedics opened the house were repelled by the bad odor and a dog, so they could only see the man underneath a table, and without reviewing it, they concluded that regarding the strong scent, the man was dead.

    They called then to the crime experts and when they began to manipulate the “corpse” to make corresponding managements, the body began to move, protesting their presence in his place.

    González was transferred to the “Hospital Hidalgo”, where hypothermia and dehydration signs were detected, he was admitted to the hospital and now his state of health is reported as stable, according to sources in that hospital.

    Posted in Humor, News | 2 Comments »

    Corpus Delicti a nice play

    November 26th, 2006

    Corpvs Delicti

    Corpus Delicti refers to crime’s body, not just to the corpse itself but to the related body of evidence.

    I would love to see this play wich is a free play that uses real-life ballistig gel cadaver to explore art & science of anatom as practiced in Holland during the Age of Enlightenment, and immortalized in Rembrandt’s 1632 painting “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp” (one of my favorites paintings).

    In Corpus Delicti: Just Desserts, the protagonist is Dr. Nicholas Tulp (Larry Underwood), guides audiences through the taboo territory of the body’s interior, inviting them to witness the dissection of a life-sized cadaver made up of ballistic gel and vegetables as internal organs.

    A “post-mortem” panel discussion with researchers, ethicists, artists and members of the cast will be held after the performance.

    The play is produced by Local Infinities Visual Theater. I accept invitations.

    Posted in Medical Images, Medlinks | 1 Comment »

    Doctor’s attitude humanization

    November 25th, 2006

    This positively affects your patients outcome.

    A soon “I’m sorry”, told by the attending physician to his patient when he was mistaken in treatment or advice, could represent less sues, better patient-doctor relationship, help to avoid future mistakes and improves trust of patients in their doctors.

    In the US, 98,000 people dies every year by medical mistakes. The doctor who recognizes his own mistake has fewer problems of legal issues.

    I didn’t know that 17 american states had the “I’m sorry” law. This sounds very nice to me.

    This is why I firmly believe that medical schools have to include more subjects about humanism.

    In a study of Richard Gracely, from Michigan University, 60 postop patients went randomized assigned to receive pain killers or placebo pills. He thought that 50 percent of the patients took pain killers and the rest took placebo pills, but the truth was that all of them had placebo pills. Surprisingly, the first 30 patients had fewer paint than the rest and that was just because the possitive attitude that doctor transmitted to his patients when he prescribed them.

    Posted in Humanism | 1 Comment »

    Ectopia cordis

    November 24th, 2006

    This is a clinical image of a baby with ectopia cordis (it means that his heart is outside his chest) treated with surgery and had a great outcome.

    You can find the complete story, right here.

    Thanks to Kevin, M.D.

    Posted in Medical Images | 1 Comment »

    Grand Rounds 3.9

    November 21st, 2006

    Great edition of Grand Rounds is up at Doctor Anonymous.

    Good work, Dr. A.

    Posted in Grand Rounds, Medlinks | 1 Comment »

    Omax3 Review

    November 21st, 2006

    This is a paid review

    omax

    Have you ever got a lipids profile?
    A nice recommendation is to get a lipid profile by the age of 20 y.o.

    If your General Practitioner found abnormalities in your lipid profile it’s probable that he will order you to modify your lifestile (exercise, diet, take a cup of red wine daily, quit smoking, take an Omega-3 supplement)

    Probably you have heard about “good cholesterol” (HDL) and “bad cholesterol” (LDL). Actually, we know that the rised levels of good cholesterol are better than the low levels of bad cholesterol.

    Well, this product, called Omax3 is the nicest Omega-3 supplement in the market. There are a lot of studies that support the benefits of taking Omega-3 supplements, wich includes:

    • Decreases the risk of heart attack.
    • Slowing the growth of atherosclerotic plaques.
    • Lower your triglyceride levels.
    • Decreases the risk of cardiac arrhythmias.
    • Decreases your blood pressure.
    • Improve cognition and memory.
    • Enhance your mood.
    • Increases your joint and skin health.

    Omax3 is the ultra pure Omega-3 supplement and deñovers greater tjan 91% per softgel capsule (while most supplements just deliver only 30-60 percent).

    This product is manufactured by highest quality standars: pharmaceutical grade, molecularly distilled, independently tested and free from contaminants.


    Supplement facts

    They also accept International orders. I think I’ll give it a try.

    Extra information in their site: Omax3

    Posted in Review | No Comments »

    Fallot’s Tetralogy in a 8 y.o. girl

    November 21st, 2006

    While on his community service, my friend Dr. Víctor Hugo Roa-Castro, just diagnosed a girl with Fallot’s Tetralogy (a congenital heart disease), wich consists in the combination of a ventricular septal defect (VSD) with Pulmonary Stenosis, with the Aorta “Overriding” (sitting “astride”) the VSD and with right ventricle hypertrophy (RVH).

    It’s about 10% of all types of congenital heart disease. Both sexes affected with slight male predominance. Detected weeks or months after birth. Clinical features are cyanosis from birth or developing in the first year of life caused by the lung’s inability to oxygenate sufficient blood for the system, difficulty in feeding, failure to gain weight, retarded growth and physical development, dyspnea on exertion, clubbing of the fingers and toes, and polycythemia.

    Here is the clinical case:

    A “previously healthy” 8 years old came to Víctor’s consult because she has been feelling with fatigue in the last 7 months and her mother states that she tought that her daughter wasn’t sick despite her blueish tones in her skin since she was born.

    On the clinical exam, Victor found this:


    Cyanosis in the perioral area


    Central cyanosis


    Central cyanosis


    Cyanosis & clubbing of the fingers


    Cyanosis & clubbing of the fingers

    Click on the player to hear the murmur

    wich was a 3rd grade systolic in the 3rd left intercostal space.

    powered by ODEO

    On the EKG: aQRS 150 grades, right ventricle hypertrophy, right atrial enlargement, transition V2-V3.

    On the Chest X-ray: Situs solitus, cardio-thoracic index 0.6. Boot shaped heart with an upturned apex and a concave main pulmonary artery segment. Pulmonary flow appear slightly decreased.

    On the Echocardiogram: Interventricular abnormal communication (restrictive type), Aorta overriding, right ventricular hypertrophy, infundibular pulmonary stenosis.

    Many thanks to Dr. Víctor Hugo Roa-Castro for the case.

    Posted in Medical Images | 3 Comments »

    Scrubs Gallery

    November 14th, 2006

    This is a paid review:

    This review is about the online uniforme boutique (Scrubs Gallery), wich have the greatest scrub collection.

    Within its catalogue they have a vast collection of lab coats for both man and woman (31) and men’s scrubs (lots), but the main market is for women with three different styles in solid and printed tops and three different models of pants.

    One option that I find very useful is the price on-screen and the possibility of see the line-art because you can’t figure how many pockets your pant has or if it’s with drawstring or what.

    They also have a size chart, for those who trying to avoid errors of sizes.

    I personally contacted to the customer support service via e-mail (who answered me in 5 minutes), but they told me that unfortunately, there is no service of international orders. So I’ll have to wait until I go to USA.

    Customer support service also has a toll-free number.

    On-line orders are encrypted using Verisign verified SSL encryption, and they promote their products with a 30-day money back guarantee on un-opened products with no restocking fee.

    I think it will be nice that they include foot wear in their catalogue.

    Posted in Review | 1 Comment »

    Volkmanns ischemic contracture

    November 13th, 2006

    The brachial artery is the major artery that transverses the antecubital fossa; injury to the brachial artery will cause radiating pain, decreased skin temperature, decreased pulses, and pallor of the distal arm and may result in Volkmann contracture.

    The Volmann’s ischemic contracture is a contracture of the flexor muscles and median and ulnar nerve palsies. a long-term sequelae of compartimental syndrome and posterior elbow dislocation.

    It could be prevented by early microvascular repair of brachial artery injuries.

    Posted in Fast Facts, Medical Images | No Comments »

    New advertising system

    November 10th, 2006

    This is a paid review:

    Via Text Link Ads, I have found a new way of advertising, it is called ReviewMe. This great idea, it’s a blog advertising system that will allow advertisers to contact me in order to review their products, web sites or services.

    Andy Hagans and Aaron Wall are the creators of this social network, conceived by Aaron in the first place (right here)

    I hope a lot of advertisers want me to review their stuff. This is a way to give them feedback and not just to publicize their producs.

    If you want to join, you should know that you don’t need a certain kind of plataform (Wordpress, Movable Type, Blogger, etc), you just need to post the reviews that ReviewMe’s crew will ask you to write.

    In few words, as Andy said:

    What does ReviewMe do?

    (Minus the buzzwords) Advertisers, you pay to get your stuff reviewed by bloggers. Bloggers, you get paid to review their stuff.

    Congratulations to Andy and Aaron.

    Posted in Review, Site | 2 Comments »

    I did it

    November 7th, 2006

    I haven’t written in a while because I am involved in thousands of transact that seem endless.

    The Good News: I passed the exam, so I’m going to be a surgeon.

    Now, the problem is not the exam itself. When you go for it, and study a lot, you can pass it, but passing the exam isn’t the last thing to do. Let me explain you this:

    On September 2nd and 3rd was the exam wich consists in 600 questions of medical knowledge and 100 questions of english language understanding. Two months later (October 30th) results was published in the website of the CIFRHS. As I wrote before, it is a challenge to get into a residency program. Also, corruption reigns in this exam. O.k. I passed the exam and I’m selected to be a surgical resident.

    The thing is that now, people selected have to pick a spot in an hospital of their preference. Again, corruption reigns this step. The Committee give you just one letter of your approved status and with that you have to go to ONE hospital at the same time and apply for their residency program. If that hospital don’t like you, you loose your turn and have to wait to the next round of applications.

    With the earnings of 10 million dollars, they could implement a system like the “match”, why they don’t do it? Lot of people will loose their chance to get into a residency program.

    Posted in Daily Medical Life | 9 Comments »

    Man with Breast Cancer

    October 27th, 2006

    David Poncelow a 31-years-old computer programmer and scuba diver is battling breast cancer, and he blogs about it in his new blog called What’s up with David?

    david

    He also started a flickr gallery to show people his before and after procedure pictures.

    Posted in Medlinks | 1 Comment »

    Blog’s First Anniversary

    October 24th, 2006

    Well, yesterday was this blog’s first anniversary and what a greater way to celebrate than to be “slashdotted.”

    Not exactly slashdotted, but dugg, wired, kevinned, NHSed, Emergiblogged and many more. For all the people who kindly linked to my site, thank you a lot.


    From Shortstats


    From Google Analytics

    With that ammount of traffic, my website crashed for an hour, but everything came back to normal.

    I would like to thank all the readers, and specially the commentors because you are the possitive feedback.

    GeoMap
    Click on the GeoMap

    Thank you for your kind support and for everything. I will keep blogging for you.

    Posted in News, Site | 7 Comments »

    « Older Entries
    Newer Entries »