Regular readers of this blog might feel we have an obsession about increasing vaccination rates. Guilty as charged.
Regular readers of this blog also need little or no convincing on this issue. For many Continue reading
We all need to keep moving
We all know exercise is good for us, but did you know that even if we exercise, too much sitting during the day is linked to a greater risk of disability?
A recently published study of more than 2,200 adults ages 60 years and older showed Continue reading
A whopping amount of whooping cough in California
Friday the 13th is rarely a good day. Friday, June 13, 2014, did not disappoint. On that day, California public health officials declared the state is now in the midst of a pertussis epidemic. Over 3,400 cases have been reported state-wide and the year is not even Continue reading
MR. Sam Adams, let’s shake on it. On the other hand, let’s not.
The earliest documented handshake depicts the Assyrian King Shalamaneser III (859 BC -824 BC) shaking hands with Marduk-zakir-sumi I of Babylon in a public display of friendship between the two kingdoms. The handshake is thought by some to be Continue reading
Delayed MMR increases the incidence of post-vaccination seizures
Many counties in PHC’s network have low pediatric immunization rates. This may be due in part to access or transportation issues. But it is also due to misperceptions about the risks of vaccines. While these misunderstandings can be tough to change, it is incumbent Continue reading
Reminder on optimal thyroid lab ordering
The symptoms and signs of hyper- and hypothyroidism are well known to primary care clinicians. When either diagnosis is suspected, the usual next step is to order blood tests to determine whether the clinical impression of thyroid disease can be confirmed. Continue reading
Silent But Deadly
Unlike the usual ramifications of the term SBD (silent but deadly), radon gas is odorless and invisible. In contradistinction, radon is tasteless whereas the commonplace SBD is completely lacking in manners. Silent but deadly, the much-underappreciated radon gas Continue reading
Jury still out on whether antibiotics suffice for acute appendicitis
So can we now blast away appendicitis with just antibiotics? A recent publication seems to suggest so, though there is still room for debate. Dr. Peter Minneci was the lead author of this study done at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. In a one-year period they enrolled 77 children and teens diagnosed with uncomplicated appendicitis and Continue reading
Salads and the fountain of youth
Cost-effectiveness is modern medicine’s mantra. Put another way, when cheap solutions are found for common problems, let us embrace them.
One of medicine’s most common and vexing problems is death. It is a phenomenon with Continue reading
Dueling opinions on vitamin D
“Curiouser and curiouser,” cried Alice in her journey through Wonderland. And so might we primary care clinicians, soldiering forward to stamp out disease and promote good health in a sometimes confusing world. Our mission is made more challenging when Continue reading