Editorial: There were no plans to write a part 5 to a 4-part series but this account by David Hammerstein, a Cochrane board member, clamors to be spread. One more point to mention is if what Cochrane is doing now is junk, then the NICE and all other guidelines are also junk. So there is a lot riding on this clash. Cochrexit refers to the fact this is a curiously British … [Read more...] about Cochrexit?
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Cochrane: Collaboration or Cult?
Editorial Note: This is the fourth in a sequence of posts on the possible disintegration of the Cochrane enterprise. The most recent being the Valley of Death. Archie Cochrane was one of a group of British doctors who came back from World War II committed to social medicine, some of whom like Richard Doll, who with Tony Hill put the link between smoking and lung cancer on … [Read more...] about Cochrane: Collaboration or Cult?
The Valley of Death
Editorial: Part 3 of this Cochrane sequence follows on from last week's Data Based Medicine. While the histories of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) celebrate a first use of randomization in 1947, and there was some use of RCTs, primarily in mental health, in the mid-1950s, RCTs were a minority interest until 1962 and might have remained so, never giving rise to Evidence … [Read more...] about The Valley of Death
Data Based Medicine and Cochrane Inc
Editorial Note: This post continues a sequence that began with Cochrane Cock-up. It centers on treatment efficacy. A third post will center on safety where Cochrane has failed even more comprehensively than on efficacy. A fourth will feature some of the protagonists. The Cochrane Collaboration took shape around two foundational ideas. One was that randomized controlled … [Read more...] about Data Based Medicine and Cochrane Inc
Cochrane Cock-up
Editorial Note: The Akathisia theme of recent weeks will move over to RxISK for the moment to leave room for some posts about an astonishing meltdown in Cochrane centered on the HPV vaccine. The Cochrane Collaboration began a quarter of a century ago aimed at trying to pull together the best available evidence on treatments. From the start there was an assumption among this … [Read more...] about Cochrane Cock-up
Even Docs get killed by Akathisia
This post by Johanna Ryan is part of a series on DH and RxISK centered on Billiam James's .Akathisia Anthem Pamela Wible, M.D. has been one of the leading voices speaking out about physician suicide. She has done a lot of good, too, by being open about the abuse of doctors by the system - students and junior folks especially – instead of just reciting bland slogans about … [Read more...] about Even Docs get killed by Akathisia
Little Red SSRIding Hood
Billiam James' Akathisia Anthem available HERE with lyrics Here raises the profile of one of the most neglected problems in medical care. There may be up to 500 commonly available drugs that trigger depression, agitation and suicadality - see RxISK 500+. The song has a gritty, hard-hitting message -- rated with "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" on iTunes and Amazon. It's … [Read more...] about Little Red SSRIding Hood
A.K.A.thisia: Drug Induced Emotional Turmoil – D.I.E.T.
A link to the Akathisia Anthem is now live on the RxISK Akathisia page which includes more details on D.I.E.T. Pills. There is a parallel post on RxISK and will be follow up posts here and on RxISK over the next two weeks. AKATHISIA ANTHEM LYRICS: Akathisia, Akathisia You make me wanna Make me wanna Akathisia Thank you doctor for this little pill But the fact of the … [Read more...] about A.K.A.thisia: Drug Induced Emotional Turmoil – D.I.E.T.
The Hot Zone: Quarantining Girls
The idea of managing lethal epidemics by imposing a quarantine flourished in Italy in the fourteenth century. In their efforts to control the plague, Italian towns regularly put blocks on trade particularly maritime traffic from affected areas. This seemed sensible and may have worked to some extent. But if you don't know what is in fact going on it, it is rarely … [Read more...] about The Hot Zone: Quarantining Girls
In the Name of the BMJ
Editorial Note: This post follows last weeks In the Name of the BBC. There will probably be two more posts on Hostile Environments and The Anti-Facts Brigade. The titles and this photograph come from the movie In the Name of the Father - a compelling 1993 move about the Guildford Four which comes complete with an astonishing cast. The movie costs almost nothing to rent on … [Read more...] about In the Name of the BMJ