New England Journal of Medicine Audio Summary for August 31, 2006

From the NEJM:

This summary covers the issue of August 31, 2006. Featured are articles on celecoxib for the prevention of colorectal adenomas and colorectal adenomatous polyps, deep-brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease, Marburg hemorrhagic fever associated with multiple genetic lineages of virus, the value of medical spending in the United States, and a cautionary note on RNA interference as a potential therapy; a review article on cerebral aneurysms; a case report of a boy with fever and lesions in the liver and spleen; and Perspective articles on the future of primary care, on Marburg hemorrhagic fever, and on control of Japanese encephalitis.

Technorati Tags: new england journal of medicine

The Reexpressed MDRD Equation (Formula) for Calculating GFR

This is the new, revised MDRD formula:

GFR = 175 x standardized Scr^–1.154 x age^–0.203 x 1.212 [if black] x 0.742 [if female]

A calculator is here.

From "Using Standardized Serum Creatinine Values in the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study Equation for Estimating Glomerular Filtration Rate" -- Levey et al. 145 (4): 247 -- Annals of Internal Medicine:

Background: Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimates facilitate detection of chronic kidney disease but require calibration of the serum creatinine assay to the laboratory that developed the equation. The 4-variable equation from the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study has been reexpressed for use with a standardized assay. Objective: To describe the performance of the revised 4-variable MDRD Study equation and compare it with the performance of the 6-variable MDRD Study and Cockcroft–Gault equations. Design: Comparison of estimated and measured GFR. Setting: 15 clinical centers participating in a randomized, controlled trial. Patients: 1628 patients with chronic kidney disease participating in the MDRD Study. Measurements: Serum creatinine levels were calibrated to an assay traceable to isotope-dilution mass spectrometry. Glomerular filtration rate was measured as urinary clearance of 125I-iothalamate. Results: Mean measured GFR was 39.8 mL/min per 1.73 m2 (SD, 21.2). Accuracy and precision of the revised 4-variable equation were similar to those of the original 6-variable equation and better than in the Cockcroft–Gault equation, even when the latter was corrected for bias, with 90%, 91%, 60%, and 83% of estimates within 30% of measured GFR, respectively. Differences between measured and estimated GFR were greater for all equations when the estimated GFR was 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2 or greater. Limitations: The MDRD Study included few patients with a GFR greater than 90 mL/min per 1.73 m2. Equations were not compared in a separate study sample. Conclusions: The 4-variable MDRD Study equation provides reasonably accurate GFR estimates in patients with chronic kidney disease and a measured GFR of less than 90 mL/min per 1.73 m2. By using the reexpressed MDRD Study equation with the standardized serum creatinine assay, clinical laboratories can report more accurate GFR estimates.

Related Links: Patient Information on Kidney Disease

Technorati Tags: nephrology, mdrd equation, mdrd formula, annals of internal medicine

Sent Via Treo

Testing mobile post.

Time for a New Blog Template

I'm experimenting. Expect lots of changes. Don't be alarmed.

NYT Article "Laptop Slides Into Bed in Love Triangle," Featuring Enoch Choi

From the New York Times:

Dr. Enoch Choi, 36, and his wife, Tania, 33, who have been married 10 years, both take laptops to bed to write their blogs. “I suppose I started the trend,’’ said Dr. Choi, a physician in Palo Alto, Calif. “But now my wife is just as much the nighty-night PowerBook key-banger, blogging away for her friends.”

Technorati Tags: medbloggers, medical blogs, enoch choi, new york times

Free Ebook Available of "Blood, Sweat and Tea" about the London Ambulance Service

The Ebook, based on the blog Random Acts of Reality, may be found here.

Technorati Tags: blogs, ebooks, random acts of reality, emt, london, medical blogs

Flickr: AFTERNOON REST

From Flickr. Uploaded by Viorica G on 13 Aug '06, 6.07am EDT PST.

Can You Drink Liquid Explosives?

Via Slate:

Investigators believe that the suspects in the terrorist plot foiled Thursday planned to bring various bomb ingredients onto commercial airliners in liquid form. As a result, all but a few liquids have been banned from airplane cabins. Passengers can carry on important medicine, or milk and juice for small children, as long as they're willing to taste those liquids in front of security staff. What would happen if a terrorist were forced to take a sip of his liquid explosives?

Technorati Tags: slate, terrorism

Judge Orders Unabomber Goods Solds at Auction

From Reuters.com:

"Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski's journal, as well as axes, typewriters and books seized from his Montana cabin will be sold in an Internet auction to help pay restitution to his victims, a federal judge has ordered.

Technorati Tags: unabomber, reuters

Hilarious Journal Articles #61: Infant Brains Detect Arithmetic Errors

From Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences:

A current debate is whether increased looking time in infancy is related to violation of expectations. In this study, 6- to 9-month-old infants' brain activity was analyzed during presentation of correct and incorrect solutions to simple arithmetic equations [(e.g., presentation of 1 + 1; one doll on a TV monitor, with another doll added from behind a screen, followed by a solution of 2 (correct) or 1 (incorrect)]. Infants looked longer at incorrect solutions than at correct ones. Event-related potentials, time-locked to the presentation of the solution, also differed between conditions, with greater negative activity for the incorrect solution condition. Spectral analysis showed a similar pattern to that of adults observing correct and incorrect arithmetical equations. These findings show (i) that the brain network involved in error detection can be identified in infancy and (ii) that this network can support an association between looking time and violation of expectations.

The full list of hilarious journal articles is here.

Today is the World Wide Web's 15th Anniversary

From BBC NEWS:

One key date is 6 August 1991 - the day on which links to the fledgling computer code for the www were put on the alt.hypertext discussion group so others could download it and play with it.

On that day the web went world wide.

Technorati Tags: world wide web, internet, bbc

Interview with Google's Staff Physician, Taraneh Razavi

Via ZDNet:

Taraneh Razavi is not your ordinary physician. She's the doctor at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, where she's in charge of maintaining the Googlers in good health. But she's also interested in how tech trends affect our health and preventive care in general. A few months ago, she started a very well-done and informative blog about these subjects, Dr. Razavi's Good to Know Info. And she was nice enough to answer my questions about her multiple activities and how she feels about blogging while working at Google.

Technorati Tags: google, taraneh razavi, medicine

Flickr: Storm

From Flickr. Uploaded by philipinperu on 31 Jul '06, 6.10am EDT PST.