"This blog was developed to provide medical updates that are important and have my perspective as additional insight."
Dr. John Sotos was a former classmate at Hopkins, and is known as Dr. Zebra for his knowledge of arcane medical conditions and diagnosis. Sound familiar…like someone on TV ? That’s because he is the ‘real life’ Dr. House, and was the medical adviser for the TV show. What is the diagnosis of this patient …
SCAD stands for Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection, a form of heart disease that is rare but is the cause of heart attacks in younger women, pregnant women, and women you are not a typical risk for heart disease. After Robert’s wife died from the condition, he became a supporter of research into this little known …
Read More “OUR PATIENT ROBERT ALICO PROMOTES RESEARCH ON SCAD”
A PATIENT WRITES…. Dear Doctor Doug: I just noticed a swelling on my left elbow, about the size of golf ball. It is not hot or red. No pain. Feels like it’s full of water. Should it be punctured?? Right elbow is fine. Look forward to hearing from you. Nick AND I RESPOND: This …
Read More “A PATIENT’S ELBOW SWELLS SPONTANEOUSLY AND HE NEEDS ADVICE”
What is the advantage to fooling your doctor? Nothing…I’d say. It’s best to be honest about what your concerns and symptoms are, or I cannot determine the true nature of your concerns or the diagnosis of the illness that is occurring. On the other hand, there is an entertainment value in deception. As …
Stories can be a great teaching tool…they can also entertain. THE MOTH is a radio program that is on the web, and it celebrates wonderful stories and the storytellers. I enjoyed this wonderful reminiscence by this Infectious Diseases doctor….take a listen and see what you think Listen >>>>HERE<<<<
Here is a link to some of the most wonderful pictures I’ve seen on the internet. It’s 37 famous locations…filmed by low-flying drones. Take a look and enjoy…… >>>HERE<<<<
Although the idea of a biopsy is never pleasant, the idea of a liquid (blood sample) biopsy has a little excitement to it, as it sounds simpler and less painful. In fact, it is….and this approach to diagnostics will grow larger in the coming years, supplanting the need for invasive testing that is currently being …
IT IS A MYTH! Although there are people in Arizona who have Lyme’s Disease, there are ZERO DOCUMENTED CASES of Lyme Disease contracted in Arizona. Lyme Disease is a tick-borne infection caused by a spirochete germ (similar to the same germ that causes Syphyllis….a cousin. The germ (spirochete bacterium) is called Borrelia Bergdorferi. It is …
Read More “MYTH OR FACT….A PATIENT CLAIMS TO HAVE BEEN INFECTED WITH LYME DISEASE IN ARIZONA”
NSAID medications are commonly prescribed and used as over-the-counter pain relief treatments. Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs are non-aspirin pain relievers that include over-the-counter Advil (Ibuprofen), Aleve (Naprosyn), and a host of prescriptions medications like Celebrex, Voltaren (Diclofenac), and long list of additional medications in this class. Aspirin, although technically in this grouping, is excluded, …
My nephew John Smyth is 23 years old, lives in Indiana with his parents, and has had major communication issues his entire life due to Autism. More recently, he has been communicating through ‘facilitation’, a method that allows caregivers to assist in improving communication methods with those who find it challenging to communicate on their …
ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. ProPublica has just come out with a simple to read scorecard for surgeons….to share Medicare information on surgical outcomes that the government is collecting. This information is useful, to the extent that it provides a ‘ballpark’ estimate of a surgeon’s …
Chest pain can have a myriad of causes, and making this determination can be difficult and often requires a doctor to pick apart what the symptoms means. Pleuritic chest pain is a sharp pain, focused, below the skin surface, and is accentuated by coughing, sneezing, or breathing (deep or shallow). It is typically on only …
During my career, the treatment of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) has improved dramatically, withe longevity the rule, rather than the exception, since the development of a multidrug regimen that includes: ACE Inhibitors/ARB’s, Beta Blockers, Aldosterone Inhibitors, and Diuretics. A new addition, Entresto, appears to provide further improvement in CHF, enough to warrant some tempered excitement …
The internet has many surprises….and one of them is THE WAY BACK MACHINE On this website, you can look up old versions of websites that no longer exist or you can see the initial iterations of ones you are currently using. It’s a bit of a ‘trip’ to go back and see www.doctordoug.com from the …
Here is a fun little quiz to check your memory and your artistic knowledge. Take a look…it’s a lot of fun: QUIZ IS >>>>HERE<<<<