Whooping Cough or Pertussis
PodcastDX
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis. It's characterized by severe, persistent coughing fits, often ending with a high-pitched "whoop" sound. The disease can be very serious, especially for infants, and is preventable through vaccination. Whooping cough is an illness that can spread easily. It's also called pertussis. An infection with bacteria causes it. Many people with the illness get a serious hacking cough. Breathing in after coughing often causes a high-pitched noise that sounds like a...
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Summer Health and Safety
PodcastDX
What’s your plan for this summer? Enjoying the water? Going camping? Firing up the grill? Whatever you prefer, we have safety steps to follow. And don’t forget your furry friends. There are steps you can take to help keep them safe too. Skin safety Children's skin is more susceptible to sunburns and UV damage from the sun than adults. Before going outside, and dress your kids in protective clothing like rash guards and hats. Choose a sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 30 with broad-spectrum protection that blocks both UVA and UVB rays. Sunscreen is only safe for children over 6 months...
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Hepatitis (Re-Run)
PodcastDX
Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. The liver is a vital organ that processes nutrients, filters the blood, and fights infections. When the liver is inflamed or damaged, its function can be affected. Heavy alcohol use, toxins, some medications, and certain medical conditions can cause hepatitis. However, hepatitis is often caused by a virus. In the United States, the most common types of viral hepatitis are , , and . Hepatitis D, also known as “delta hepatitis,” is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis D virus (HDV). Hepatitis D only occurs in people who are also...
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Narcolepsy (rerun)
PodcastDX
Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by overwhelming daytime drowsiness and sudden attacks of sleep. People with narcolepsy often find it difficult to stay awake for long periods of time, regardless of the circumstances. Narcolepsy can cause serious disruptions in your daily routine. Our guest today is Lindsey who will discuss her life with narcolepsy. Lindsey grew up in Charlotte NC and is currently residing nearby in Belmont, NC with her husband and dog. She was diagnosed in May of 2019 after dealing with symptoms since childhood. She was previously...
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Migraine
PodcastDX
On today's show we are speaking once again with Sheila Ames. As you may recall, Sheila is a Registered Nurse and the founder of "Ames Alchemy Coaching" which can be found on Facebook and Instagram. Today she joins us to discus her life-long struggles with migraines. A migraine is a headache that can cause severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on one side of the head. It's often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine attacks can last for hours to days, and the pain can be so severe that it interferes with...
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Strep
PodcastDX
Bacteria called group B Streptococcus (group B strep, GBS) commonly live in people’s gastrointestinal and genital tracts. The gastrointestinal tract is the part of the body that digests food and includes the stomach and intestines. The genital tract is the part of the body involved in reproduction and includes the vagina in women. Most of the time the bacteria are not harmful and do not make people feel sick or have any symptoms. Sometimes the bacteria invade the body and cause certain infections, which are known as GBS disease. GBS bacteria can cause many types of infections: ...
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Incontinence
PodcastDX
Incontinence refers to the involuntary leakage of urine (urinary incontinence) or feces (bowel incontinence), a common problem that can significantly impact quality of life. Urinary Incontinence: Definition: Urinary incontinence is the accidental loss of urine. Types: Stress incontinence: Leakage during physical activity or when the bladder is under pressure (coughing, sneezing, laughing). Urge incontinence: A strong, sudden urge to urinate that you can't control, leading to leakage. ...
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Winter Sports Safety
PodcastDX
Winter sports are thrilling and enjoyable, but they come with unique risks that require careful preparation and safety measures. Activities such as skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, and sledding expose participants to hazards like icy conditions, extreme cold, and potential collisions. Wearing appropriate protective gear, such as helmets, padded clothing, and eye protection, can significantly reduce the risk of injury. Additionally, dressing in moisture-wicking and layered clothing helps maintain body warmth and prevent frostbite or hypothermia. It is also crucial to stay hydrated, as...
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Vectors in a Hotter World
PodcastDX
This week we discuss vectors in a hotter world. Vector-borne diseases, which are transmitted by hematophagous arthropods such as mosquitoes, ticks, and sandflies, pose a significant burden on global public health. These diseases disproportionately affect populations in tropical and subtropical regions, where environmental conditions favor the survival and proliferation of vectors. Given that vectors are ectothermic organisms, their life cycles, reproduction, survival rates, and geographic distribution are heavily influenced by climate variables such as temperature, rainfall, and...
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Intro to Ehlers Danlos Syndrome
PodcastDX
This week we discuss the basics about a topic several of our guests have spoken about- Ehlers Danlos Syndrome or EDS. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a group of inherited disorders that affect your connective tissues — primarily your skin, joints and blood vessel walls. Connective tissue is a complex mixture of proteins and other substances that provide strength and elasticity to the underlying structures in your body. The Ehlers-Danlos syndromes received and this is what we now know: EDS are heritable connective tissue disorders affecting the quality of collagen in every...
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This week we will discuss the topic of Diagnostic Radiology. The error rate of radiology is 4% world wide which comes out to be 40 million interpretive errors a year. Errors in diagnostic radiology occur for a variety of reasons related to human error, technical factors and system faults. It is important to recognize that various cognitive biases contribute to these errors.
Cognitive biases have a complex and significant impact on the perception of examinations within diagnostic radiology, with the clear and present danger of diagnostic errors. The following are some of the more common cognitive biases that can affect day-to-day decision making
Alliterative bias
Alliterative bias (sometimes called satisfaction of report) is the tendency for your diagnostic impression to be unduly influenced by the prior interpretation made by another radiologist or clinician. It is a type of confirmation bias and it can result in the same incorrect impression being propagated from one radiologist to the next. Formulating your own interpretation before reviewing any prior imaging reports may help reduce alliterative bias.
Anchoring bias
Anchoring bias is the tendency for your initial impression to unduly influence your evaluation of subsequently collected information. Careful assessment of all imaging findings prior to formulating a diagnosis and consideration of alternate diagnoses may help minimize anchoring bias.
Automation bias
Automation bias is the tendency for reporters using computer-aided decision support to over rely on the software for the diagnosis, and to ignore their own opinions 2. Making your own assessment prior to reviewing the computer-aided findings, and knowing the limitations of the automated software, can help reduce this bias.
Availability bias
Availability bias refers to the tendency for your diagnostic judgements to be unduly influenced by information or experiences that are readily recalled in your mind. Use of information sources beyond your own personal experience, such as publications or an opinion from colleagues, may help to minimize availability bias.
Bandwagon effect
The bandwagon effect (sometimes termed diagnosis momentum) refers to the tendency for you to do or think as others do, simply because that's what others are doing. Applying your own judgment and not dismissing your own opinion can help avoid this bias.
Confirmation bias
Having a predetermined diagnosis in mind, then looking for evidence that supports this predetermined idea. Alliterative errors 3, sometimes referred to as satisfaction of report errors, are caused by the tendency to overvalue previous reports, and can be conceptualised as a type of confirmation bias.
Framing bias
Framing bias refers to the tendency to be unduly influenced by how a clinical question is asked or how the problem is presented. For example, a request form that presents a succinct history that perfectly matches a particular pathology, may influence your interpretation of the imaging. Reviewing the images prior to reading the clinical indication can help avoid any influence. Obtaining more detailed clinical information via the electronic medical record may help provide you with a more balanced assessment of the clinical situation.
Hindsight bias
Hindsight bias is the tendency to overestimate the prior predictability of an event (eg. a diagnosis) after the event is known. In other words, the difficulty of making the correct diagnostic decision initially is retrospectively de-emphasized, after the diagnosis has been proven. It is also informally termed as the “I knew it all along” or "retrospectoscope" bias 5. It is important to be conscious of this bias so that you are not overly critical of yourself or others when quite reasonable errors are made.
Outcome bias
A tendency to favor a less severe diagnosis based on empathy for a patient.
Representativeness bias
Making a judgment on an aspect of an image that is based on one's own perception of what that represents. Representativeness bias as the description suggest can also be heuristic in nature.
Search satisfaction
Search satisfaction is the tendency to prematurely stop searching after early findings satisfy the reader that the diagnosis or symptoms can be explained. Satisfaction of search (SOS) errors have been reported to account for 22% of diagnostic errors 4. A systematic approach to image interpretation and review of check areas and not-to-miss diagnoses can help to reduce this bias.
Zebra retreat bias
A reader will not make a rare diagnosis, which is otherwise supported by the available evidence due to a lack of confidence.
There are businesses that do "second opinion" reads, here are links for two such companies for your use: www.ndximaging.com www.xmri.com
