Tag: first do no harm
Steroid Injections Not as Safe as Previously Thought
From Harvard Medical School blog Calling steroid injections into question Steroid injections can quickly relieve inflammation in the joints, and the effects may last from several weeks to several months. I’ve seen a number of patients who got significant relief from steroid injections every three or four months. But, a new report of one…
Read MoreThe Tyranny of the Logical: or Biological plausibility
I am linking to a thorough and thoughtful article by David Epstein . The name of his article is “When Evidence Says No But Doctors Say Yes”. Careful readers of my blog know that this is something that I’ve been concerned about almost since my blog’s inception. It is a phenomenon that I’ve called the…
Read MoreExercise as Effective as Surgery for Knee Pain
I’m glad to see surgery subjected to meaningful control studies. That’s the standard for Acupuncture research except we also have the additional burden of adding sham acupuncture as a study arm. Surgical studies, for some reason, don’t need add a sham arm. Exercise therapy versus arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for degenerative meniscal tear in middle aged…
Read MoreDevice Makers Take Dangerous Shortcuts
Turns out that Medical Device companies have making tweaks to their devices without putting them through human testing. Calamity ensues. First, Do No Harm. A few years ago, the Food and Drug Administration announced a stunning recall, saying that electrical wires in some St. Jude Medical heart defibrillators, which were implanted in tens of thousands…
Read MoreUnreliable Research Can Be Deadly
So depressing. Another story about a drug that would cause the problem that it was trying to solve, in this case heart attacks. The company who developed it hid the hazards. November 19, 2013 Doctors Say Heart Drug Raised Risk of an Attack By ANDREW POLLACK Cardiologists have accused a small drug company of withholding…
Read MoreSanity on Statins: Part 4? or is it 5?
Lots of news about the latest recommendations for patients with high cholesterol vis a vis drug regimens. At first I thought it was good news, but now, reading the editorial by Rita Redberg, I realize that these recommendations could actually WIDEN the use of statins. I will leave it to Redberg and Abramson to…
Read MoreStatins Controversial in the Elderly
More controversy over statins. This time for seniors over 70 with no heart risk. There is evidence of harm linked to statin use in seniors, he added, including muscle aches, liver toxicity and gastrointestinal distress; growing evidence of impaired memory and a heightened risk of diabetes; and some evidence of an increased risk of…
Read MoreStatins Linked to Increase In Catarracts
One more reason to resist statins unless absolutely necessary.
Read MoreQuestioning Steroids for Back Pain
So a new study shows that injecting epidural saline is just as good as injecting steroids for low back pain. I think this should be a rather big deal. This study was painstakingly done reviewing all appropriate studies to date, even taking into account publication bias. The full study here.Epidural_Injections_for_Spinal_Pain__A_Systematic.31 A handy review of what…
Read MoreHormone Use in Menopause Still in Doubt
Traveling ( in Stockholm for the ISAMS conference) so won’t discuss this at length. But noteworthy is how nuanced any advantages of hormone therapy are. Go natural, take herbs and get acupuncture. First, Do No Harm. October 1, 2013 Study of Hormone Use in Menopause Reaffirms Complex Mix of Risks and Benefits By DENISE…
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