Grand Rounds
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Grand Rounds 5:45 - Le Tour de France Edition!
Where Grand Rounds is the Grand Tour of Medical Blogging, the Grand tour of Cycling is undoubtedly Le Tour de France, which concluded on Sunday in Paris. After three weeks of cycling, nearly 3,500km at an average speed above 40km/h, the peleton will ride up Paris' Champs Elysee's to the finish. Throughout the race, certain riders and teams will have reached their goals, revealed their future potential and achieved great triumphs. This week's Grand Rounds features some sterling examples of writing, all capable of Stage Victories, and some, much more. Welcome to the Tour...
Maillot JauneThe Yellow Jersey, prize for the 'General Classification' is undoubtedly the most coveted in cycling. This is the best of the best; team leader, hill climber, accelerator, tactician. The pre-race contenders this year included the resurgent Lance Armstrong, Aussie Cadel Evans, youngster Andy Schlek and the eventual winner, Alberto Contador. These posts are groupe du maillot jaune;
Mudphudder is an intern and, like reaching the Yellow Jersey, it's all about pushing limits, where "each day things are made a little tougher than the previous day just to see if that’s what pushes me over the edge." Raw stuff.
At the forefront of current healthcare discussion is President Obama's public health plan. Mother Jones, RN weighs in from a nurse's perspective.
Leslie at Getting Closer to Myself considers a new anti-Lupus drug from the patient perspective, with some healthy skepticism in a very well written and rational post.
Doc Gurley interviews the British-born award-winning novelist and historian, Jacqueline Winspear, in a vid-post honouring the death of two men - the last WWI British vets, Henry Allingham and Harry Patch.
Mudphudder is an intern and, like reaching the Yellow Jersey, it's all about pushing limits, where "each day things are made a little tougher than the previous day just to see if that’s what pushes me over the edge." Raw stuff.
At the forefront of current healthcare discussion is President Obama's public health plan. Mother Jones, RN weighs in from a nurse's perspective.
Leslie at Getting Closer to Myself considers a new anti-Lupus drug from the patient perspective, with some healthy skepticism in a very well written and rational post.
Doc Gurley interviews the British-born award-winning novelist and historian, Jacqueline Winspear, in a vid-post honouring the death of two men - the last WWI British vets, Henry Allingham and Harry Patch.
King of the MountainsThe mountains, for all but a few, spell pain. It is where the winners and losers of the Tour are decided, and the Polka Dot jersey is awarded to he who dances up the Cols fastest and most consistently. 2009 has seen Italian Franco Pellizotti take control of the Mountains, first winning the polka dot jersey in the 13th stage, and he hasn't let it out of his grip since;
How to Cope with Pain blog examines some of the evidence for accupuncture as analgesia. It may be useful for some types of pain, but probably not for the wrecked cyclists.
Canadian Medicine News' Sam Solomon reports on a recent medico-legal decision that could have interesting implications regarding non-emergency mid-air care.
Louise at Colorado Health Insurance Insider posts about the importance of joint responsibility in healthcare. You can't be pushed up a mountain, nor can patients summit unassisted.
Sprinters' Jersey
Big strong blokes, well adept at picking a point and driving it home, at speeds of up to 65km/h on the flat! Aussie Brad McEwan is a three time Green Jersey winner, claiming the sprinter's title in 2002, 2004 and 2006. This year has been a battle royale between Brit Mark Cavendish and Thor Hushovd of Norway;
Paul S. Auerbach at Wilderness Medicine shares the result of repeated toenail trauma.
Over at Health Business Blog, David ponders; Less is More. He thinks.
Barbara Kivowitz' post at In Sickness and In Health sights a recent study on Caretaker Stress.
How to Cope with Pain blog examines some of the evidence for accupuncture as analgesia. It may be useful for some types of pain, but probably not for the wrecked cyclists.
Canadian Medicine News' Sam Solomon reports on a recent medico-legal decision that could have interesting implications regarding non-emergency mid-air care.
Louise at Colorado Health Insurance Insider posts about the importance of joint responsibility in healthcare. You can't be pushed up a mountain, nor can patients summit unassisted.
Sprinters' JerseyBig strong blokes, well adept at picking a point and driving it home, at speeds of up to 65km/h on the flat! Aussie Brad McEwan is a three time Green Jersey winner, claiming the sprinter's title in 2002, 2004 and 2006. This year has been a battle royale between Brit Mark Cavendish and Thor Hushovd of Norway;
Paul S. Auerbach at Wilderness Medicine shares the result of repeated toenail trauma.
Over at Health Business Blog, David ponders; Less is More. He thinks.
Barbara Kivowitz' post at In Sickness and In Health sights a recent study on Caretaker Stress.
Teams ClassificationA team's best three times each stage contributes towards the classement d'équipes. This year, Astana have bullied the other teams into submission, with Messrs Contador, Armstrong and Andreas Kloden all in the top seven riders. To achieve a good standing, teams must not only have a few riders doing well in the general classification but put riders in breakaways and stage wins throughout le Tour;
Toni Brayer at ACP Internist explains her frustration at being wrongly classified by a fellow doc.
Toni Brayer at ACP Internist explains her frustration at being wrongly classified by a fellow doc.
Over at InsureBlog, Henry Stern considers that Doc's Aren't Stupid After All...
Could the majority of H1N1 (Swine) 'Flu deaths due to bacterial septicaemeia, and hence susceptible antibiotics? The Cockroach Catcher investigates.
Drugs, EPO and The Doping ControversyThis year's tour has not revealed any new drug dopers, but 'Gear'-related controversy is never too far away from the Tour. Last year, Riccardo Ricco freakishly broke away from the lead group several times, winning two stages before being disqualified for using CERA, a synthetic form of erythropoetin. French Customs even searched some of this year's team support cars at border crossings!
Dr Shock considers the Unintentional Consequences of FDA Black Box warnings on SSRIs.
Unintentional consequences certainly go hand in hand with blood doping... hypercoagulability, anyone?
Medical marijuana has been a hot topi recently at EverythingHealth; Toni Brayer posts about the services offered in California.
At Florencedotcom, Barb discusses recent politics in California, and notes wisely that "equating occasional long reaches down a dark foxhole with 'patient safety' is a huge disservice". Oh, and that California is full of bad actors.
Crash!
Sometimes things just go badly; on the 16th Stage of this year's Tour, Jens Voigt crashed whilst descending at around 75km/h. He was unconscious for several minutes, and was treated at Grenoble Hospital.
At Listed as Probable, this compilation of incidents fits this category perfectly, on a light note.
Bongi posts about foreign gratitude when an ill-informed international phone call querying his care.
Sometimes it's actually safer to apologise for your part in the crash, as Apologizing for errors halves malpractice suits, according to ACPHospitalist.
Team directeurs
Dr Shock considers the Unintentional Consequences of FDA Black Box warnings on SSRIs.
Unintentional consequences certainly go hand in hand with blood doping... hypercoagulability, anyone?
Medical marijuana has been a hot topi recently at EverythingHealth; Toni Brayer posts about the services offered in California.
At Florencedotcom, Barb discusses recent politics in California, and notes wisely that "equating occasional long reaches down a dark foxhole with 'patient safety' is a huge disservice". Oh, and that California is full of bad actors.
Crash!Sometimes things just go badly; on the 16th Stage of this year's Tour, Jens Voigt crashed whilst descending at around 75km/h. He was unconscious for several minutes, and was treated at Grenoble Hospital.
At Listed as Probable, this compilation of incidents fits this category perfectly, on a light note.
Bongi posts about foreign gratitude when an ill-informed international phone call querying his care.
Sometimes it's actually safer to apologise for your part in the crash, as Apologizing for errors halves malpractice suits, according to ACPHospitalist.
Team directeursThe Directors Sportif are the master tacticians of the tour. They plot and plan and map the future of their team's race, emphasising individual rider's strengths whilst achieving the best overall result for the team. Much like the authors and commentators of health policy;
Medicine and Technology's Dr Joseph Kim considers that Healthcare Reform may push doctors away from clinical medicine.
Kim over at Emergiblog recently attended the BlogHer 2009 conference, and she relays a session she attended with Valerie Jarrett, a Senior White House Advisor.
HealthBlawg covers a recent Conference he attended in NYC; Social Communications & Healthcare. Dave Harlow describes it as "a lively event with an energized crowd."
Le Peleton
No summary of le Tour would be complete without a mention of the peleton. French for 'platoon', these riders are the guts of the Tour. It's amongst the peleton the domestiques ply their trade, climbers hide in the sprints, sprinters attempt the climbs and the Grand show that is the Tour unfolds!
Grupetto
The grupetto or autobus is a group of sprinters who are poor climbers. They work together as a bunch to survive the treacherous passes in the Alps and Pyrenees. Traditionally, the last man in the tour is known as the lantern rouge, and until 1989, the rider wore an actual red light! More often than not, the grupetto make it all the way to Paris...
Medicine and Technology's Dr Joseph Kim considers that Healthcare Reform may push doctors away from clinical medicine.
Kim over at Emergiblog recently attended the BlogHer 2009 conference, and she relays a session she attended with Valerie Jarrett, a Senior White House Advisor.
HealthBlawg covers a recent Conference he attended in NYC; Social Communications & Healthcare. Dave Harlow describes it as "a lively event with an energized crowd."
Le PeletonNo summary of le Tour would be complete without a mention of the peleton. French for 'platoon', these riders are the guts of the Tour. It's amongst the peleton the domestiques ply their trade, climbers hide in the sprints, sprinters attempt the climbs and the Grand show that is the Tour unfolds!
Grupetto
The grupetto or autobus is a group of sprinters who are poor climbers. They work together as a bunch to survive the treacherous passes in the Alps and Pyrenees. Traditionally, the last man in the tour is known as the lantern rouge, and until 1989, the rider wore an actual red light! More often than not, the grupetto make it all the way to Paris...
Well, that's it for this Tour de France edition of Grand Rounds. Remember to wear your helmet, don't cross wheels and ride safe. See you in Paris! Thanks again to Dr Val and Colin Son for asking me to host this edition of Grand Rounds; I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the submissions and visiting some new and interesting blogs! Next week's Grand Rounds is hosted by Kim at Emergiblog... See you there!
Nice one Capt A.
OMG - the photos! the writing! the style and grace! What a fab Grand (Tour de) Rounds.
Cycle on! I learned more about what makes healthcare and the Tour go 'round. Thanks for showing how the trek differs from the race! Here's a link: http://florencedotcom.blogspot.com/2009/07/grand-rounds-visits-tour-de-france.html
Great Work. Love the integration of cycling and medicine, probably my two most favourite things.
Beautiful job, Cap'n!
Thanks for hosting, and for including our post.
You have done a great job with Grand Rounds. Can't wait to read all of the interesting blogs you included. Congrats!!!!
What a great tour! Thanks for including my post.
Thank you for the Tour de Grande Rounds.
The Cockroach Catcher
Nice job, great roundup and well written. mpw
I particularly liked the cycling theme as I am gearing up to ride the Pan-Mass Challenge this weekend - a 200-mile bicycle ride raising $30M for cancer research and treatment. (100% of contributions go directly to the Dana Farber Cancer institute's Jimmy Fund.) Please sponsor me at http://bit.ly/TMhzX and/or follow my tweets from the road this weekend @healthblawg - http://twitter.com/healthblawg - or aggregated with others on my blog .... and thanks for including my post.
Oui! Oui! Vive le Grand Rounds!
I enjoyed it; great job!!!