Month: October 2018

Reading of the Week: “The Name of the Dog” – Dr. Tafder’s Excellent NEJM Paper & More

October 25, 2018 /

From the Editor

There is something often dehumanizing about the health-care experience – the way patients can be reduced to medical-record numbers, the way lives can be summarized in disease names and a few demographic details (“a 30 year old woman with schizophrenia”).

This week, we consider two essays that are about people who happen to be patients – and the lessons that our colleagues have drawn from their stories.

In the first selection, we look at a paper written by Dr. Taimur Safder that was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. It’s about the name of a dog – and much more. During his training, Dr. Safder presents the case of a person who develops chest pain when walking his dog. When the supervisor asks the name of the dog, the physician isn’t sure. “Four years later, I’m not sure anything I’ve carried from residency has been more useful than that question.”

dy_wosjwsamveozNo, this Reading isn’t really about dogs

And, in the second selection, we consider a short essay by Dr. Lee Lu. The Texas doctor describes her experiences working with a patient with substance use problems – and wrestling with her own biases.

Finally, returning to the topic of cannabis legalization, we consider some responses to last week’s Reading, and a CMAJ editorial on the topic.

DG

Continue reading

Reading of the Week: Cannabis Legalization – Clinical Implications & Major Papers

October 18, 2018 /

From the Editor

It’s legal.

After decades of debate, Canada has legalized recreational marijuana, joining an exclusive club of nations with just one other member: Uruguay.

In the coming weeks, many details will be sorted out – some small (the regulation of edibles), some not so small (driving and use). But starting this week, we clinicians work in a different world.

What are the clinical implications of legalization? Will we see more use? How will people present to our EDs and clinics? What should we ask on a history? And how do we treat cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome? (Spoiler alert: ginger stat.)

In the first selection, I highlight comments by CAMH’s Dr. Jonathan Bertram made in an interview with me. We discuss what every clinician should know about legalization.

p06999n5

And then with an eye on the journals, I pick a few essential articles on cannabis, drawing from The New England Journal, JAMA, and other major publications, considering topics from the adverse effects of marijuana to the implications for pain management.

DG

  Continue reading

Reading of the Week: Weight Loss for People with Schizophrenia? STEPWISE Didn’t Work. On the Big Paper, the Not-So-Big Result & Negative Results

October 11, 2018 /

From the Editor

Years ago, I worked with a patient who lost 70 pounds with an aggressive regiment of exercise. His determination was exceptional but his struggles with obesity weren’t. People with schizophrenia are twice as likely as the general population to deal with weight problems.

In the first selection, we consider a paper on weight loss for those with schizophrenia and related illnesses. STEPWISE offered these patients a thoughtful approach to weight management. The paper is remarkable for its finding: the intervention didn’t work. As the University of Southampton’s Dr. Richard I. G. Holt and his co-authors write: “the intervention was neither clinically nor cost-effective over the 12-month intervention period.”

In this Reading, we consider the paper, but also the larger issue of negative trials and their lack of presence in the literature.

bank-failure-lw-schwenk-locWe often read about bank failures; medical study failures, not so much

In the second selection, we draw on a New York Times essay by pediatrician Aaron E. Carroll who calls for the publication of more negative trials. “These actions might make for more boring news and more tempered enthusiasm. But they might also lead to more accurate science.”

DG

  Continue reading

Reading of the Week: Social Media & Paranoia — the new Acta Paper; Also, How Do We Change Docs? A Reader Responds

October 4, 2018 /

From the Editor

Politicians tweet about townhall meetings; celebrities put vacation pictures on Instagram; your cousin in Europe has her own YouTube channel.

Our world is very different than it was just a few short years ago. (Fun fact: Facebook – a decade and a half old – claims to have more than 2 billion active monthly users.)

But how has social media affected those with mental illness? While this is much discussed in the media, there is little in the literature. In this week’s Reading, we consider a new paper that looks at social media and mental illness, in particular psychosis. Tweet this: the University of Manchester’s Natalie Berry and her co-authors didn’t find a connection between use of social media and increased paranoia.

BELCHATOW POLAND - MAY 02 2013: Modern white keyboard with colored social network buttons.

In this week’s Reading, we consider this new paper from Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. We also wonder about the role of the Internet and social media for those with psychosis, drawing from a Psychiatric Services paper.

Also, the University of Toronto’s Dr. Ivan Silver writes a letter to the editor about a previous Reading.

DG

 
Continue reading