CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal articles from December 2004

CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal archives from December 2004

The tale of the boiling frog/Le conte de la grenouille ebouillantee.(Editorial)(Editorial)
December 7, 2004... Urban myth has it that if you put a frog in a pot of boiling water it will instantly leap out. But if you put it in a pot filled with pleasantly tepid water and gradually heat it, the frog will remain in the water until it boils to death....

Acquired growth hormone deficiency and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in a subject with repeated head trauma, or Tintin goes to the neurologist.(Auscultations)
December 7, 2004... We describe the unique case of a public figure who is well known for having delayed pubertal development and statural growth (Fig. 1). We believe we have discovered why Tintin, the young reporter whose stories were published between 1929 and...

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree...(Auscultations)
December 7, 2004... A 2 1/2-year-old boy referred to our department had a history of recurrent right lower lobe pneumonia from the age of 10 months, beginning a few months after his first Christmas. Each episode resolved with a course of antibiotics administered...

Outbreak of neurologic syndrome and sequelae in 17 states and 2 provinces.(Auscultations)
December 7, 2004... In the aftermath of recent outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases such as SARS and West Nile Virus, health departments in many states and provinces throughout North America implemented a syndromic surveillance system in hospital emergency...

A missed diagnosis.(Auscultations)
December 7, 2004... Several years ago, when I was a junior internal medicine resident in a large teaching hospital, I received a page to assess a patient who had been diagnosed with malaria and was running a fever. The nurse who paged me pointed out that he had...

Referral request for S. Claus.(Auscultations)
December 7, 2004... To: Dr. Yull Tyde From: Y. Ingrid Goh * Please examine Mr. Claus for the following illnesses during his next physical examination. Please ensure he understands that these work-related risks affect his health. It is highly recommended...

Incidence of and risk factors for nodding off at scientific sessions.(Auscultations)
December 7, 2004... Abstract We conducted a surreptitious, prospective, cohort study to explore how often physicians nod off during scientific meetings and to examine risk factors for nodding off. After counting the number of heads falling forward during 2...

The long and the short of it.(Auscultations)
December 7, 2004... The day after I returned from summer vacation this year, I felt as if I needed some medication to help me cope with the accumulated pile of correspondence, lab reports and phone calls to return. Perhaps someone should devise a...

Confronting the Christmas of our health care discontent.(Over and above)
December 7, 2004... This is the season of licensed excess, of endless parties, of cash-register orchestras chiming the Allelujah Chorus. In the health care systems of the world's richest nations, Christmas comes year round. An appealing notion, at first glance:...

Excess in the pharmaceutical industry.(Over and above)
December 7, 2004... The main point about excess in the pharmaceutical industry is how much there is of it. Here I can touch on only a few specifics about this altogether over-the-top business. Profits Although the pharmaceutical industry claims to be a...

How to read clinical journals: XII. How you too can profit from pharmaceutical advertisements.(Over and above)
December 7, 2004... Consider the following scenario. You are perusing your favourite clinical journal and flip to an advertisement for a new drug. The left frame shows a sad looking fellow who seems older than his years. On the right panel, he looks much better...

A view from the Internet age: let's build a health system that meets the needs of the next generation.(Over and above)
December 7, 2004... Three years ago, my youngest daughter, who was 7 years old at the time, discovered a mole on her leg. Terrified, she called me and said, "Dad, run and get our camera, take a picture of this spot and e-mail it to one of your doctor-friends to...

Eating disorders and childhood obesity: who are the real gluttons?(Over and above)
December 7, 2004... I recently received a package in the mail intended as part of an obesity-awareness campaign aimed at family physicians and pediatricians. The materials included body mass index (BMI) charts, worksheets, handouts and a poster. These materials...

A survey of entertainment extremes among medical students in Croatia.(Over and above)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2004... How do medical students spend their free time? Are they overindulging in any sort of entertainment? Are there any predictors of the entertainment choices they make? An anonymous, voluntary questionnaire survey of medical students in Zagreb,...

The human genome project will not replace the physician.(Over and above)
December 7, 2004... Every physician interprets manifestations of illness. Osler, more than anyone, was the first to move medical practice beyond the level of a trade and give it an intellectual foundation and language. Osler interpreted the manifestations of...

Wisdom from a medical elder.(Over and above)
December 7, 2004... The following excerpts are transcribed from a speech delivered by Dr. Eugene A. Stead in Durham, NC, in October 2002 on the occasion of his 93rd birthday. They represent the extemporaneous musings of a true medical pioneer who was perhaps the...

Darwinian pursuits with interruptions by Huxley: a brief pontification on medical education.(Essay Prize Winner)
December 7, 2004... A troop of newly arrived students, very young, pink and callow, followed nervously, rather abjectly, at the Director's heels. Each of them carried a note-book, in which, whenever the great man spoke, he desperately scribbled. Straight from the...

Medical House blues.(Flashbacks)
December 7, 2004... At Homecoming a flock of Old Boys returned to Medical House. They inspected the worn bricks and windows, ran fingers over rusted railings and faded wooden banisters, stared at black-and-white photos of lost Old Boys on walls. They walked around...

Tunnelling to 50: an exploratory medical memoir.(Flashbacks)
December 7, 2004... It began in the summer of 2003. I went to see my internist about my inability to fully flex my right knee during squash matches. His secretary ushered me into his examining room and told me to undress and await his appearance. Stripped to my...

House calls.(Flashbacks)
December 7, 2004... Forty years ago, it usually began this way: "Ask the Doctor to call. I think Mother has a chill." "He'll be there as soon as he can." The doctor would bring a bag with a stethoscope, and perhaps a patellar hammer to check her reflexes....

Therapy in the gray zone: psychiatry recalled.(Flashbacks)
December 7, 2004... We tend to simplify history... --Primo Levi, The Drowned and the Saved (1) Thea, if she were alive today, would be over 90 years old. She was the first woman I met when I came as a new resident in psychiatry to New Branch III, Manhattan...

The gift.(Flashbacks)
December 7, 2004... It was a dark and snowy night. I was weary of my shift in the emergency department of Nowhere General Hospital, even though I'd made the choice to work on this particular night, to give my coworkers a chance to spend time with their families....

How I got over the Christmas flu.(Flashbacks)
December 7, 2004... Half-way through his reading of the CMAJ holiday issue the doctor developed fatigue and muscle aches. Not enough to exclude work and pre-Christmas parties, but enough to concede, miserably, that the whole season might be a little overdone. The...

References please.(Flashbacks)
December 7, 2004... It should fall under the differential diagnosis of "feeling of impending doom." When the time comes to request a letter of recommendation from my clerkship preceptor, I feel the old phobia overtake me. Instead of being my regular,...

History's lessons.(Flashbacks)(Fictional Work)
December 7, 2004... SCENE: Hippocrates and Asclepius are together in an idle moment on Mount Olympus. HIPP: I do wish you'd stop calling me Hippy. It tends to wear a bit after 25 centuries. ASC: Don't be so touchy. I know you call me Clap behind my back....

The discovery, elucidation, philosophical testing and formal proof of various exceptions to medical sayings and rules.(In other words)
December 7, 2004... Medical rules, quotations and sayings are ubiquitous in medical practice, and it is impossible to get through medical school or residency without hearing an older and wiser physician sum up a case by quoting one of the giants of medicine. (1)...

Medical scientists and intimate relationships: translating the language of love.(In other words)
December 7, 2004... It's undoubtedly true that a statistically significant proportion of medical science nerds have difficulty forming intimate relationships. Many of us are more comfortable pursuing an intimate relationship with our computers than with a fellow...

Cinderology: the Cinderella of academic medicine.(In other words)
December 7, 2004... Background Although the study of children's literature as it applies to medicine has traditionally been the province of the psychoanalytic field, (1) authors in other disciplines such as pediatrics have also devoted attention to the...

Just a minute: incredible numbers at play at the macro and micro level.(In other words)
December 7, 2004... So much happens in 1 minute, at both the macro level (the Universe) and the micro level (within the human body). In 1 minute, the Earth, weighing about 5.95 sextillion (1000 trillion) metric tonnes (roughly the equivalent of 1000 million...

Impact of long-term political conflict on population health in Nepal.(On the other side)
December 7, 2004... Nepal is a small Himalayan kingdom sandwiched between India and China. With a population of 25 million, of whom 90% live in rural areas, it ranks as one of the poorest countries in the world. (1) In 2001 Nepal's gross domestic product (GDP) was...

Here and there 2004.(Novelties)
December 7, 2004... SUV * WMD Fun fur * Darfur Fat farms * Fatwahs Spermicide * Genocide Stem cells * Terrorist cells Low-carb diet * No carbs: die Evian * Avian Cicadas * Al-Qaida iPods * Death squads Smart cards * Smart bombs Diamond mines *...

Skewed news 2004.(Novelties)
December 7, 2004... A slightly cynical look at the year in medicine, science and health. Why some politicians are with us longer than you might hope for According to a McMaster University study, patients suffering from hypertension can lower their blood...

Sandeep K. Aggarwal, Vinai Bhagirath.(MDs 'R' Us[R]: gifts for your favourite specialist)
December 7, 2004... To celebrate our tremendous success and growth over the last year, MDs 'R' Us[R] is proud to present more holiday gift ideas for the busy physician. This year, we focus on the age old adage, "physician, heal thyself," with products designed to...

Plastic-surgeon-in-a-box Makeover Kit[TM].(MDs 'R' Us[R]: gifts for your favourite specialist)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2004... Is the plastic surgeon in your life concerned that they're not projecting the right image? If the answer is "Yes," the problem may be an acute "bling bling" deficiency. Fret not; MDs 'R' Us[R] has the cure. Introducing our patented...

Potpourri Neck Tie[TM].(MDs 'R' Us[R]: gifts for your favourite specialist)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2004... Respirologists spend hours every day with patients who are saturated in cigarette smoke, which can be really hard on the nose, especially if you suffer from asthma or allergies. With the new Potpourri Neck Tie[TM] by MDs 'R' Us[R] your...

Radio-Rap[TM].(MDs 'R' Us[R]: gifts for your favourite specialist)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2004... Sometimes the lack of interaction with patients can leave radiologists feeling a little awkward during those rare times when they do speak with patients. They may have forgotten those little niceties like saying "Hello," introducing themselves,...

Defense-Greens[TM].(MDs 'R' Us[R]: gifts for your favourite specialist)
December 7, 2004... New for Christmas 2005, MDs 'R' Us[R] is launching a line for clinical clerks! It's no secret that staff walk all over the clerks. It's practically a time-honoured tradition. But all that walking is bound to cause some internal injuries. Help...

Gastro--Shield[TM].(MDs 'R' Us[R]: gifts for your favourite specialist)
December 7, 2004... Being a GI specialist is probably the one field where you're almost certain to get splattered with something coming out of one end of the GI tract or the other. To protect your colleague's fancy suit and to keep him or her from smelling like...

Query.
December 7, 2004... I work several emergency shifts a week and, naturally, generate clinical questions on each occasion. I've pondered the best imaging technique for particular types of suspected fracture; I've debated best treatment options for myriad diseases;...

The Last Gasp.(Numerology)
December 7, 2004... "Not everything that counts is counted; not everything that is counted is worth counting."--Albert Einstein Weight in pounds that a 7-lb human baby would reach at 18 weeks if it grew at the same rate as a commercially raised turkey: 1500...