US Medicine Direct - April 2010 Issue

Dear U.S. Medicine Reader,

U.S. Medicine is proud to welcome Col. Chester ‘Trip’ Buckenmaier III, MD, as Editor-in-Chief. We look forward to Dr. Buckenmaier’s guidance and vision as we continue to serve the healthcare professionals working in Veteran’s Affairs, Department of Defense and U.S. Public Health Service.

Dr. Buckenmaier is chief of Army Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Management Initiative at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

James F. Breuning
Publisher

From the Editor-in-Chief: Training for Disaster

Every surgical patient at Cho Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, underwent a chest X-ray. It is not my typical practice to review chest X-rays prior to beginning a regional anesthetic, but this was not my typical practice.

My Vietnamese physician hosts insisted I review the X-rays of each patient prior to assisting them with the block procedure. This I did diligently without incident until I saw the film of my next patient, an elderly female with a perfectly formed M-16 slug in the right lower lobe of her lung. She was about to undergo a thoracotomy and a right lung lower lobe lobectomy for the complications this spent bullet was now causing her some forty years after she was shot as a girl during the Vietnam War.
read more

APRIL ISSUE

Clinical Briefs:

Survey Highlights Substance Use Treatment Need Among Uninsured More

Progress Notes:

The First Phase of the FDA's Transparency Initiative More

Forward
U.S. Medicine Direct
to a Colleague

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE APRIL ISSUE OF U. S. MEDICINE

VA and DoD Mental Health Leaders Address Rising Suicide Rates
Washington, DC - Suicide rates among servicemembers and veterans remain high, causing concern that VA and military health care could be doing more in terms of prevention and treatment.
read more

More Power Recommended to Evaluate Potentially Harmful Chemicals
Washington, DC - Federal law should be updated to give the federal government more power to evaluate potentially harmful chemicals, administration officials told a Senate subcommittee.
read more

NIMH Stresses Deployment-focused Intervention Development
Bethesda, MD - It is not enough to conduct cutting-edge research and create innovative new treatments if those treatments are never utilized by health care systems, according to Dr Robert Heinssen, acting director of NIMH’s Division of Services and Intervention Research. One of the leading candidates to take over the position full-time, Heinssen has new strategies planned to enhance NIMH’s impact and better connect scientists, policymakers and other stakeholders. read more

Tribute Paid to Fallen Military Medical Servicemembers
Arlington, DC - Families of military medical personnel gathered last month under sunny skies at Arlington National Cemetery to pay tribute to the nearly 250 military medical servicemembers who have died in battle in Afghanistan and Iraq. “These brave men and women made the ultimate sacrifice to save their comrades,” said Dr Charles Rice, MD, the senior medical officer for DoD, who spoke at the ceremony. read more

Army War College Study Provides Insight on Children with Deployed Parents
Washington, DC - Children of frequently-deployed soldiers may be handling deployments better than their parents think, a recent study found. read more

President Requests Discretionary Budget Authority for IHS
Washington, DC - The president is asking for over $4.4 billion in discretionary budget authority for the IHS. Overall, the budget request is 9% over the FY 2010 enacted level. read more

Racial Disparities Among Alzheimer’s Patients Cause Concern
Washington, DC - African Americans and Hispanics have more to fear from Alzheimer’s disease than their Caucasian counterparts, according to a new report released by the Alzheimer’s Association.
read more

Battlefield Trauma Places Servicemembers at Greater Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease
Washington, DC - The risk for dementia may not be a condition that many worry about until their senior years, but military researchers are taking steps now to better understand and prevent young warfighters from the potential of developing it in their old age. read more

Recent US Medicine Direct

Follow Us

US Medicine Direct - April 2010 Issue