E very illness is a story, and Annie Page’s began with the kinds of small, unexceptional details that mean nothing until seen in hindsight. Like the fact that, when she was a baby, her father sometimes called her Little Potato Chip, because her skin tasted salty when he kissed her. Or that Annie’s mother noticed that her breathing was sometimes a little wheezy, though the pediatrician heard not...

My first brush with the issue of humanity in medical field was when I read this quote, a few months back, put up by a prestigious international journal for an essay writing competition. As I read that quote, it stirred my conscience. And although I almost instantaneously quelled the desire to write on it, thinking my chances of winning an essay contest too slim to bother with, it set me thinkin...

Vigilance is the motto for the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Vigilance over the sedated pediatric dental patient is essential for safe and successful treatment. Especially important is vigilance over the patient’s airway. If airway compromise can be quickly detected and corrected, then the likelihood of the patient experiencing a decrease in oxygen saturation will be low. Hypoxia cause...

OBJECTIVE Studies have demonstrated frequent contamination of stethoscope and usefulness of different disinfectants. Albeit, studies on the precise mode of cleaning and frequency of cleaning are lacking. This study was carried out to determine efficacy of 66% ethyl alcohol as disinfectant, rate of recontamination without cleaning and benefits of daily versus immediate cleaning. METHODOLOGY Pr...