Tag: first do no harm

Ethics in Medicine

Clinical Trials Subject to Bias in Reporting.

  This post is a sort of corollary of the skepticism around acupuncture research.  The flip side is that when the researchers believe in, or want something to work, the reporting becomes skewed. In this case, side effects were significantly under reported in the studies. January 14, 2013 Clinical Trials Flawed by Biased Reporting By…

Read More
Ethics in Medicine

Skip the Anti-inflammatories Before a Workout

  What I learned: In summary: take ibuprofen before your workout for sore muscles and more inflammation!! Why? 1. Taking Ibuprofen before a workout can lead to micro damage to the intestines. 2. This damage can lead to intestinal leakage. 3.  Small amounts of bacteria and digestive hormones can leak into the blood stream  4. …

Read More
Ethics in Medicine

The Big Picture:Sunday Morning Philosophizing

One of the themes that pervade modern U.S. life. from the Big Short, by Michael Lewis  p.110 “In public markets, you have people focused on quarterly earnings rather than the business franchise.  You have people doing things for all sorts of insane reasons.”  They believed, further, that public financial markets lacked investors with an interest…

Read More
Ethics in Medicine

Clostridia Dificile on the Rise

We’ve been discussing C.Dif (Clostridia Dificile) in the context of encouraging good bacteria.  This is from the most recent Anesthesiology Today. Dramatic Rise in Hospital Visits for C. Difficile by George Ochoa Despite efforts by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and antimicrobial stewardship programs to combat Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs), the national…

Read More
Ethics in Medicine

Another Article on Steroid Injection Risk

  We’ve covered the hazards of epidural steroid injections here.  But this article is a good summary of the questionable efficacy, the skyrocketing usage, and the horrors of the fungal meningitis cases.   How Back Pain Turned Deadly ..There are the doctors who overprescribe an invasive back-pain therapy that, in studies, has not proved useful…

Read More
Ethics in Medicine

Antidepressants: #1 Drug

  Rate of antidepressant drugs has increased 400% if you compare 1988-94 to 2005-2008. Depressing…Some concerns about antidepressants here, here, and here. 1st Antidepressant ranking among prescription drugs among U.S. adults up to age 44. Antidepressants are the most common prescription medication for Americans age 18-44, and the third most common drug across all ages….

Read More