I know that you have all been eagerly awaiting this month’s Dog Days of Summer edition of the reading round up. And yes, Dog Days means I’ll be obliged to include a gratuitous Olivia photo at the end today.
I’m delighted to see this work by my friend (and residency classmate) Julie Thacker examining sequential implementation of an enhanced recovery program and a surgical site infection bundle in colorectal surgery outcomes.
Anxiolytics are associated with worse 30-day outcomes in surgical patients– I can’t say it’s a surprise, but it should give all of you new interns pause before you order an anxiolytic for a patient.
I continue to feel justified for my nagging about costs of care that we provide. I openly admit that I don’t know the cost of most things that I order, and I would appreciate something in the EMR that gives me that information. Unfortunately, we’re not there yet.
A whole body of work exists about the use of propranolol in burn injury to mediate the hypermetabolic response. This interesting lab note that I tripped across looking at a systematic review of PTSD screening tools provides further fodder why propranolol may benefit our burn patients, who are notoriously high-risk for PTSD.
In the education realm, a Teaching and Learning moment showing how messed up our evaluations can be. And, of course, the rabble-rouser in me wonders if the resident was judged harshly for being a woman who wasn’t complicit and who was more focused on doing the right thing for the patient than keeping people happy.
For those keeping score, I finally finished reading Mink River over the weekend (finally!). If you can’t stand stream of consciousness, it’s not the novel for you. If you love a good story and flawed but lovable characters (and actually enjoyed Faulkner when he was required reading), pick it up and take it on vacation with you. It’s likely my favorite novel of the last 5 years.
And, in closing, a gratuitous Olivia photo. Because it’s my blog, after all, and it’s a dog’s life.
