Practice-Changing Articles II

February 28th, 2011

Practice-Changing Articles II

Greg Bratton, MD

Recent advances and discussions in medicine are the cornerstone of Journal Watch. Here’s the second installment of the articles that made the biggest impression on me in the past 2 weeks. I hope you enjoy the articles I selected.

Please feel free to leave a comment on the articles — Do you like them? Dislike them? Agree, disagree, state your opinion, and participate in the discussion. And if you know of another recent interesting article, post a link to it. I would love to read it.

Greg Bratton, MD

Articles of Interest:

Cribs, Playpens Pose ‘Unacceptable Level of Danger’ (and the original Pediatrics article) – Stories of children walking into their parents’ rooms one morning asking for breakfast after climbing out of their cribs could be a thing of the past. In a retrospective review of 19 years worth of emergency room data concerning injuries to children younger than 2 years, 80% involved cribs and roughly 2 in 3 involved falls, proving an “unacceptable level of danger.” So although using the baby crib you were raised in could save some money, maybe you’ll want to think twice.
Effects of Cell Phone Radio frequency Signal Exposure on Brain Glucose Metabolism – At some point, cell phones were going to be shown to influence our health (everything does). And although this study is cursory at best, it could be the match that lights the fire. Using a PET scan to show altered glucose metabolism in the area of the brain nearest the antenna – with no known consequence – this study does hint that cellular signals affect us on a physiologic level.
Knee Replacement Surgery? AAOS Says Get Two At The Same Time – I get asked all the time, “Should I get both my knees replaced at the same time or one at a time?” Under normal circumstances, I advise them to consider their age, their support system at home, and their likelihood of going back for a second surgery. However, this study now provides a little more to think about. Published by the Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, it showed that replacing both knees at once versus in two separate procedures was associated with significantly fewer prosthetic joint infections but with higher risk for cardiovascular events, including pulmonary embolism and heart attack.

Insights on Residency Training

Notes from chief residents in family and internal medicine.

February 28th, 2011