FEATURED SEARCH: lawsuit
Sadly, the most common search term using the Musculoskeletal tab last week was “lawsuit.” According to the article below, surgeons are sued on average every 4 to 5 years. Based on a seminar about malpractice litigation, it describes the most common types of lawsuits, reviews three real-life malpractice cases, and suggests how doctors can protect themselves.
RESULT: Medicolegal issues in perioperative medicine: Lessons from real cases
Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine | Oct 21, 2009
One of the “four C’s” mentioned in the article above as key to avoiding malpractice litigation, competence, correlates poorly with the likelihood of being sued, according to the commentary below. Also, in the current system patients who might deserve compensation even though no negligence was involved do not receive any. The author suggests that a general insurance fund for medical injuries would be a better option for all.
RESULT: It Is Patients Who Most Need Tort Reform
New England Journal of Medicine | Dec 2, 2009
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SEARCH TIP: How to make this search better
A simple search on the word “lawsuit” (see above) delivers results including the irrelevant synonyms “sue” and “cause.” Results would be better if you enclosed the search term in quotation marks, which forces the search engine to look for that specific word.
Also, the specialist Musculoskeletal tab includes journals relevant to musculoskeletal medicine, as well as the major general journals such as New England Journal of Medicine. But content about other topics is excluded.
Much more information about malpractice litigation appears using the term “lawsuit” in the Practice Management tab.
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OTHER RECENT SEARCHES ON SEARCHMEDICA
Search: triangular fibrocartilage complex
Does injury to the triangular fibrocartilage complex cause tendon friction that threatens the function of the extensor carpi ulnaris muscle, perhaps risking later repetitive motion injury? A study of cadaver wrists at the Mayo Clinic answers the question. (Reach full text, which costs $31.50 without a subscription, by clicking on “View MedLine abstract on PubMed.gov” at the bottom of the page, then on the Elsevier link in the right column and after that on the link to ScienceDirect.)
RESULT: The effect of triangular fibrocartilage complex injury on extensor carpi ulnaris function and friction
Clinical Biomechanics (PubMed)| Dec 1, 2009
Search: low-energy fracture
A small case series from the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases raises the possibility that taking alendronate for years places women at special risk for bilateral fractures of the femur. The authors suggest checking the other femur when such a woman breaks one, and discontinuing the drug in consultation with an endocrinologist.
RESULT: Bilateral Low-Energy Simultaneous or Sequential Femoral Fractures in Patients on Long-Term Alendronate Therapy
The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American) | Nov 1, 2009
Search: comminuted fracture
A cadaver study carried out at Wayne State University in Detroit determined the kind of impact that will cause a comminuted fracture in the temporoparietal region of the skull from a “less lethal” 38-mm blunt ballistic projectile used by police to incapacitate suspects. (Presumably this information will be used to avoid that kind of fracture.) This may not be the kind of information about comminuted fractures that your colleague was seeking. But as SearchMedica includes everything in the authoritative medical literature, it turned up.
RESULT: Tolerance of the skull to blunt ballistic temporo-parietal impact
Journal of Biomechanics (PubMed) | Jan 1, 2010
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SEARCH TIP: Type a few more keys, save a few minutes
This search turned up nearly 1000 results, including information about comminuted fractures of the femur, the mandible, the ribs, and many other bones.
Adding an anatomical term to the query would target the search.
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