Diagnostic errors are the most common, most costly, and most deadly medical errors, according to a recent analysis of 25 years of malpractice payouts from the National Practitioner Data Bank.1
Too often, ED staff dont report violence due to onerous reporting processes, according to Terry Kowalenko, MD, clinical associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor. Research suggests that violent incidents occurring in EDs are far more frequent than statistics reveal.1-3
Almost a third of children and adolescents seen in the emergency department with mild traumatic brain injury develop postconcussion syndrome, with migraine-like headaches as the most common symptom.
After successful treatment of sciatica, routine follow-up MRI of the lumbar spine provides no useful information. Recurrent or persistent symptoms mandate additional evaluation based on clinical symptoms and signs.
Chelation therapy for cardiovascular disease; statins and kidney injuries; chlorthalidone for hypertension; and FDA actions.
Veterans with Gulf War illness had a statistically significant increase of autonomic symptoms, heart rate variability, and abnormalities in sudomotor function, as measured by the Quantitative Sudomotor Axon Reflex Test, compared to control subjects. The study found objective autonomic deficits in veterans with the Gulf War syndrome with autonomic syndrome.
Exercise, both aerobic as well as stretching and strengthening, improves motor function and gait in patients with Parkinsons disease.
Regional cerebral blood flow defines distinct patterns of disrupted metabolism in psychogenic vs organic dystonia, with decreased flow in motor and premotor cortex in psychogenic dystonia, but increased flow in subcortical structures.
It has been 13 years since the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations directed hospitals to treat pain as a "fifth vital sign."
