Balance

Ran across this great post today from my new blog friend, The Curmudgeon, who is a lawyer. Imagine that, a lawyer and a doctor agreeing on something - call the papers. Anyway, he was wondering of striking a balance between blog life and real life.

Since I'm self-employed, there's no one except me to tell me to stop reading other people's blogs and get back to work. I have noticed that my productivity is not what I would hope it should be some days, especially when I read on too long, chasing link after link. (Of course, my productivity is never what I think it should be... and it's been like this for years, even before I ever heard about blogging... but, you see? I'm already digressing....)

Since some of you who've stopped by here recently are far more experienced at blogging than I, I'd love to hear how you balance blog life... and real life.

I'll hang up now and wait for your answers.

Great question - worthy of a BA meeting. I encourage you to stop by there and give Atty Curmudgeon some feedback. I'd rather you leave your comments over there rather than here. I'm curious to see what people say.

Error

Two premature infants died over the weekend in an Indianapolis hospital neonatal intensive care unit after receiving an overdose of a blood thinner called heparin -- this is according to a news report from the Indianapolis Star.

You're probably asking yourself, why would premature babies be on a blood thinner in the first place? (Apologies to those of you who already know this.)

Anyone who has an IV, whether it's an adult or child, has the potential for the IV to get blocked. To prevent this, it is standard procedure to inject heparin into the IV to keep it open. There are protocols for this and a small dose of heparin is used (especially for premature infants). For those in the intensive care unit, whether it be in neonatal or pediatric or adult ICU, patients usually has a number of IVs for things like medications, nutrition, etc.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not defending the hospital nor am I excusing their behavior. But, in reading the article, in cases like this, there is some kind of system breakdown to cause this tragedy to happen. I'm not looking to assign blame, I'm looking for a way to prevent this from happening again in the future. From the article:

Odle [hospital president/CEO] said the preliminary investigation showed a staff member, likely with the pharmacy department, placed a vial of the wrong concentration of the anti-coagulant drug heparin in a drawer of a drug cabinet at the nurses' station of the neonatal unit.

Subsequently, at least one other staff member -- probably a nurse or several nurses -- removed the vial from the computer-controlled cabinet and did not double-check to make sure the vial matched the concentration listed on the cabinet drawer before withdrawing the liquid drug into a syringe. The babies then were given an overdose.

My sympathies go out to this family. Obviously, this is something that should not have occurred. According to the article, police have ended a criminal investigation ruling it an accidental death. However, the family and the community will demand some kind of accountability. We'll have to see how this story plays out.

Yearly drug

Happy birthday, now take your medicine. Can you ever imagine saying this to someone? Well, it may actually happen. Swiss drugmaker Novartis announced over the weekend that it is in final development of a yearly medication to treat osteoporosis, according to this article from the Sydney Morning Herald. As you know, osteoporosis is a condition in which the bones become brittle and in some cases break or fracture.

I really try to keep up on this stuff. Because even though this drug is still in clinical trials and not able to be prescribed yet, I guarantee I will get questions about this in my office. Even though it sounds promising, here's the rub...

The most common side-effects associated with intravenous injection of Aclasta included fever, muscle pain, flu-like symptoms and bone pain. Most occurred within three days of administration of the drug and were resolved within three days of onset, Novartis said.

Potential side effects is one of the major stumbling blocks for drugs succeeding. There's already a drug out now for osteoporosis which you only take once a month. "Does this mean that if I have side effects, they will last a month?" patients ask me. I then quote them the info from the company, but the perception is there. Yes, it's good that you only have to take it once a month. But, it's bad if you have a problem.

The other major stumbling block is cost. No one knows how much this whiz-bang new drug is going to cost. I'm definitely sensitive to the cost of meds for my patients. In my practice, the typical patient who would get this drug will already be on between 5-8 other prescription medications, in addition to over the counter and herbal meds. The cost adds up quickly.

I understand that companies want to generate buzz and attention for new drugs in their pipeline. But, it does cut both ways. And, sometimes, the negative press can overwhelm anything positive. We'll have to see what happens with this medication.

Play that funky music

Ouch! I've been tagged. What's up with that? I'm just here, minding my own business, just blogging, and Cathy comes up and tags me. Gee, thanks.

According to my instructions, I have to list seven songs. This actually perfect because I'm picking songs for my trip to DC. Health Psych will like this, because she has been trying to get me to put back up my iPod song list. So, here are seven songs at the top of my list going with me to DC.

"Waiting On The World To Change" by John Mayer
"Is It Any Wonder" by Keane
"Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley
"Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol
"The Riddle" by Five For Fighting
"The Hardest Part" by Coldplay
"Tell Me Baby" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Next victims: *sinister laugh*
Carrie (I predict something by John Mayer, maybe even an English group)
FD (you can even pick Yaz if you like)
Jordan (and no, nothing my Shakira, just kidding)
Morgen (I don't even know what kind of music you like. Please enlighten me.)
Ladybug (by request, go for it!)

Here’s what you do. List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to. (I know I was supposed to tag seven, but, oh well.)

Sunday

Kind of a lazy day today, which is good because I get so few of these. I'm going to admit up front that this post may not go anywhere. But, hey, I'm a blogaholic. I have no problem just writing about anything.

Had lunch with mom and dad. Mum's birthday is coming up this week and we went to one of her favorite restaurants. I don't get to see my parents that much these days, mainly because of schedules. I try to get to see them every couple of months or so, and call a little more often than that. They're going with some friends of theirs to Las Vegas next month. It's always enjoyable hearing my parents tell their stories -- maybe I was lucky enough to get some of those genes.

I do admit that I could not stay away from the office. There's always paperwork to do, so I went there for a couple of hours. I like to try to clean up my desk as much as I can before starting off the week.

Oh yeah, next weekend, I'm going to be going to Washington, DC, for a meeting. I haven't been there for a number of years. I'll take my camera and my laptop. Surely some things to blog about there. I'm looking forward to that.

Finally, did some more tinkering with my sidebar over the weekend, as I'm watching golf. Ahhh, how relaxing is this. I usually blog when I'm stressed or tired or both. Great to blog when I'm feeling pretty good. Hope you're having/had a great weekend!

Crossed legs strike

You're going to think I am completely making this up, but bear with me...

The life of a Columbian gang member is hard these days. You go out and threaten people, launder money, and sometimes, have to shoot and kill someone. Work can sometimes be long days and nights. And, when you get home, all you want to do is relax, watch your 102-inch plasma TV with satellite hook up, have some drinks, and get a little somthin-somthin from your lady. That's all he asks.

But, NO! Forget that deal, Pedro. The women of the Columbian town called Pereria have taken things into their own hands, sort of. They have declared what they call the crossed legs strike, according to this story from CBS news. Apparently, when their men give up their guns, they will give them some lovin'.

One gang member's girlfriend said withholding sex was proving a powerful incentive. "The boys listen to us. When we close ourselves off a bit they listen to us. If they don't give up their weapons, then we won't be with them," Margarita told AP Television.

"They say that if we don't drop our weapons, they won't be with us anymore," said a local gang member, who called himself Caleno. "We need our women, and you'll change for your woman."

I've heard that the United Nations is really getting behind this initiative. Instead of the oil-for-food program, they're calling this, well, you can probably figure out the name yourself.

What kind of signs would be used for this protest? What would be the chants used? Strike organizers are plannning to go from bedroom to bedroom to bring their message to the masses. Maybe the Beatles were right: All you need is love (or lack of it) *cough*

Spinach frenzy

From a media perspective, it's been interesting seeing this story evolve over the past 2 days. Here are my initial thoughts on the topic. Now, the American press is in full panic mode. Maybe it's a slow news day, but the cable news channels are focused on this story this morning.

Here is the latest according to the Chicago Tribune. It started out in 8 states, now there are cases in 20 states. About 100 cases now with one fatality. It has been traced to a manufacturer in California and a voluntary recall is taking place.

I only understood the angle of the home consumer. I really didn't realize the potential impact on places like restaurants. People are going into these eating establishments and asking to have all spinach removed from their meals - which I don't blame them for.

If there's an amusing part, here it is. One of the commentators has been saying all morning that this epidemic is only hitting healthy people, because only healthy people eat spinach. The manufacturer implicated makes healthy and organic products. "So does that mean that organic products are not as healthy as we thought they once were?" the commentator asked. Duh! As a spokesman for the unhealthy people of America, all I have to say is - Please pass the donuts! The press amuse me so much sometimes.

Blog responsibility?

I've been following this story about the shooting in Montreal, Canada. Over the past 24 hours, the headlines have been stating that the shooter had a blog and there were comments made on that blog which can explain the shooter's attitude and behavior.

The response to these stories has begun. According to this item from CNews, the "online community," (don't you love how things are phrased) states that the actions of the shooter has nothing to do with the site.

Site owner Jethro Berelson, who goes by Jet online, insisted Thursday that Gill’s actions and comments had nothing to do with the site or goth culture.

“You know, I think people on the site are generally very friendly and nice, and don’t really do any crimes,” he said in a telephone interview from Brooklyn, N.Y.

Goth is a culture? I had no idea. But, here's the thing. What bothers me is the fact that this is not the first time this site has been linked with a murder.

[the site] came under the media spotlight in April after a triple murder in Medicine Hat, Alta. A 12-year-old girl and 23-year-old man accused of the killings were alleged to have profiles on the site.

Even though this Montreal story is new, it goes back to the same old debate: Does the media (movies, music, television, videogames, internet, blogs, etc) have a direct link to influencing a person's behavior? Does the media have a responsibility to society to prevent producing products that are deemed harmful?

Now, I don't want to get into a free speech and censorship debate with people. Yes, people have a right to say what they want to say, like, "Life is like a videogame, you gotta die sometime."

Montreal's Dawson College now has one less student and twenty wounded students. Could this tragedy have been prevented? Maybe yes and maybe no.

Don't pass the spinach

The US Food and Drug Administration just announced an E. Coli outbreak in eight states. There has been one death and about 50 people who have been made sick by this infection. The outbreak has been linked to bagged spinach and the FDA is advising avoiding it.

There's a cheap spinach joke in there somewhere, but I'm not going to take it. Hardly anyone dies from the E. Coli O157:H7 bug. That's why this story is alarming to me.

The Centers for Disease Control has good information on O157:H7 here:

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is an emerging cause of foodborne illness. An estimated 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths occur in the United States each year. Infection often leads to bloody diarrhea, and occasionally to kidney failure. Most illness has been associated with eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef. Person-to-person contact in families and child care centers is also an important mode of transmission. Infection can also occur after drinking raw milk and after swimming in or drinking sewage-contaminated water...

Most persons recover without antibiotics or other specific treatment in 5-10 days. There is no evidence that antibiotics improve the course of disease, and it is thought that treatment with some antibiotics may precipitate kidney complications. Antidiarrheal agents, such as loperamide (Imodium), should also be avoided.

Personally, I've never taken care of anyone with this infection. But, in reading about it and in talking with some physicians, you definitely do not want this. Hopefully, this outbreak will be brought under control soon, and the amount of illness will be limited.

134340

If you don't know, this is the new name for the "Planet formerly known as Pluto." This will be a trivia question soon, so don't forget it. In other naming news, the rock in space that, in my opinion, got Pluto kicked out of the planet club, was also renamed. The "before" name was "2003 UB313" (by the International Astronomy Union). The "after" name is now Eris, after the Greek goddess of discord.

Here's the funny part. The nickname for "2003 UB313" was Xena, as in Xena: Warrior Princess, the TV show. I know this is not true, but to think that a television show had an impact on the universe, it makes me chuckle a little bit.

I think I have to let go of the "Pluto is a planet" thing. Time to move on.