Percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) is usually an image-guided procedure that involves placing a drainage catheter directly into the gallbladder. The procedure has an important clinical application in emergency treatment of gallbladder disease. I said it is ''usually'' an image-guided procedure; however, our institution had several patients in need ...

Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a highly controversial health care reform bill (H.R. 3962), and this past weekend, the Senate voted to debate its own health care reform bill. Assuming the Senate passes a bill, a conference committee of House and Senate members will convene to settle differences between the two bills. ...

As a student, if you have a chance to choose a final rotation while in school, go out on a limb and try out an area that you are weak in or know little about. This is what prompted me to choose CT. I only had a quick, six-week rotation through CT, and it was cut short by the end-of-the-year holidays. My didactic training in CT was also ...

Tampa General Hospital, my home away from home on the weekends, does a great deal to ensure that all employees provide the best customer service to all of our patients and visitors. This week, I attended a four-hour training off site at a beautiful hotel on the water. A delicious dinner was also provided, and we even got paid for our time.The ...

Now that Halloween has passed, I would like to return to our discussion on peripheral vascular disease. I would like to devote this entry to an exploration of the pathophysiology of lower extremity occlusive disease (LEOD). LEOD is a progressive disease--specifically, chronic ischemia of the lower limbs due to the atherosclerotic process ...

Happy Halloween everyone, even though I am not a fan of the celebrations, I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable time. It is a nice time of the year and I do enjoy fall until it is time to turn the clocks back. Last week I drove to New Hampshire to visit my son for parents' day at his college, and I must say it was a very scenic ride, even ...

Not only am I enjoying my new career more and more each week but I am so grateful to have all of the benefits that come with a full time position. My benefits recently kicked in and I am saving a good deal of money each month on prescriptions and doctor's visits.One thing I haven't had since 1997 is paid time off. I took my first weekend off this ...

Since October is both Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month and Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it seems fitting to extol the virtues of diagnostic medical sonography for breast applications.  In the past, sonographic examinations of the breast were primarily performed to determine if a previously detected mass was a cyst or a solid lesion. Thus, ...

Know anyone -- maybe a patient or a family member -- who's taking an antidepressant to help with sleep, a relatively common off-label treatment prescribed by physicians for menopausal women? Or anyone who takes low-dose statin cholesterol-lowering drugs as a prophylactic measure against heart attack and stroke -- not to treat high ...

Growing up the daughter of a college English professor I quickly learned the power, beauty, and often humor of the written word. A well written poem is as brilliant to me as a famous painting. One task I have at work is to read the nurse's and doctor's notes charted on my patient before performing the ordered exam. The reasons why people come to ...