Healthcare social media #HCSM - top articles

Here are my suggestions for some of the top articles related to healthcare social media (#HCSM) in the past 4-8 weeks:

Integration of Social Media in Emergency Medicine Residency Curriculum - Annals of Emergency Medicine http://buff.ly/1CcfgM9

Collaborative Economy Honeycomb http://bit.ly/1zoBreN - Not many companies in healthcare/wellness...

Risks in Using Social Media to Spot Signs of Mental Distress - NYTimes http://nyti.ms/1xYFumq -- NIH committed $11 million to support studies into using Twitter and Facebook to better understand substance abuse. Classification algorithm predicts whether a person was vulnerable to depression, from their Twitter posts, 70% accurate. “We could compute the unhappiest places in the United States,” Dr. Horvitz said. Social media analysis might also eventually be used to identify patterns of post-traumatic stress disorder immediately after events like tsunamis or terrorist attacks. “You can see the prospect of watching a news story break and using these tools to map the pulse of society.”
ike Twitter and Facebook to better understand, prevent and treat substance abuse.

20 Blogging Tips for Writing a Successful Blog http://buff.ly/16Xsu5q

Facebook can leave you with FOMO (fear of missing out) or even MOMO (mystery of missing out)? http://bit.ly/13Pj0aj

The selfie trend has increased plastic surgery in the US. Almost all the smartphones launched in 2014 have special functions to take selfies. The #selfie trend spins money for businesses - all new phones have selfie-friendly front cameras and apps. Selfie stick, a must have gadget http://buff.ly/13JzPDm

An evidence-based review: Distracted driver http://buff.ly/1xCGg5U

Learn to Embrace the Digital Detox - WSJ guide. Digital Detox: Participants trade smartphones for smarter life choices: exercise, art and face-to-face conversation. People don’t think they are addicted to technology because it’s so ingrained in our everyday life. “People don’t often recognize the effect their behavior has on them and those around them" http://buff.ly/1BqNc6D

Good to know for all us here: No increased stress from heavier social media use: survey | Reuters http://buff.ly/1Busk21

Student class standing, Facebook use, and academic performance = "it's complicated" relationship status http://buff.ly/15ujBiH

Establishing an International Consensus on Quality of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Blogs and Podcasts http://buff.ly/1NCDSHn

Emergency Medicine Journal Club on Twitter: free, asynchronous way to engage a worldwide audience http://buff.ly/1aOsUfX

"A personal reflection on social media in medicine: I stand, no wiser than before" http://buff.ly/1IMgpNg -- “On your death bed, what do you think your biggest regret will be? … that you didn’t TWEET ENOUGH?”

The articles were selected from Twitter @DrVes and RSS subscriptions. Please feel free to send suggestions for articles to clinicalcases at gmail.com and you will receive an acknowledgement in the next edition of this publication.



Cycle of Online Information and Physician Education (click here to enlarge the image).

"Bio-detection" dogs in trial to be used for prostate cancer sniffing

Many urologists agree that the PSA test for detecting prostate cancer is often unreliable, but it remains widely used because there are no other relatively inexpensive tests. Researchers in Britain say this method may soon be replaced with dogs trained to sniff out the type of cancer that, according to the American Cancer Society, affects one in every 7 men. VOA’s George Putic reports:



It takes 6 months to train a dog to detect prostate cancer. According to the report, trained dogs can detect prostate tumors in urine in 93 percent of cases.

"These dogs have the ability to screen hundreds of samples in a day; it's something they find very easy, they enjoy their work. To them it's a hunt game - they find the cancer."

The alternative, "electronic nose" sensitivity is well below the one of a dog. A dog can find 1 part per trillion. An electronic nose is unable to find anything below 1 per million.

References:

Cancer sniffing dogs to aid British doctors. Reuters. http://buff.ly/1PWNrOL

All about hair loss (alopecia) - Deutsche Welle expert interview

Dr. Andreas Finner (Trichomed Praxis Berlin) talks about what everyone can do to keep a full head of hair and about the best methods for treating hair loss:



Today's Hair-Loss Treatments: Drugs

Minoxidil shampoo

Patients can buy an OTC shampoo with an ingredient called minoxidil. Minoxidil (Rogaine) fights androgenic alopecia in both men and women. It's still not entirely clear how minoxidil works. Used properly -- twice a day, massaged deep into the scalp -- it slows new hair loss. Two-thirds of men do get acceptable hair growth. "It is not something a bald person would use, but someone starting to go bald would use it. The goal is to maintain the hair you have."

An example from Amazon:



Propecia pill

Propecia (finasteride) works only for men. It keeps the male sex hormone testosterone from forming its DHT by-product. Many men use both minoxidil shampoo and Propecia pill for maximum effect.

Today's Hair-Loss Treatments: Surgery

Surgeons can transplant hair follicles from the sides and back of the head to the top of the head.

Future Hair-Loss Treatments

- "Hair cloning" although a more accurate name is hair duplication. Follicular stem cells are packaged into follicle-inducing implants.

- Gene therapy. A gene called sonic hedgehog can convert resting hair into growing hair.

Sonic the Hedgehog animation character from Amazon:



References:

Future Hair-Loss Treatments Promise What's not Hair Today will Be Hair Tomorrow. WebMD.

Hidradenitis Suppurativa

Hidradenitis suppurativa, also known as acne inversa, is a chronic skin disease characterized by recurrent boil-like lumps (nodules) under the skin. Hidradenitis suppurativa was once thought to be a rare condition because only the most severe cases were reported. However, recent studies have shown that the condition affects at least 1 in 100 people when milder cases are also considered.

There are three levels in the management of hidradenitis suppurativa:

- topical options
- systemic options
- surgical methods including laser therapy

Dr. Christian Baum, a Mayo Clinic dermatologist, takes a look at a chronic skin condition called hidradenitis suppurativa: overview of the condition and treatment possibilities.



References:

Hidradenitis suppurativa: a review of cause and treatment. Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2011 Apr;24(2):118-23. doi: 10.1097/QCO.0b013e3283428d07.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21192260

Hidradenitis suppurativa. NIH http://buff.ly/1Jiligz

Carpal tunnel syndrome animation

NHSChoices: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a condition that causes pain, numbness and a burning or tingling sensation in the hand and fingers. Watch this animation and find out what the carpal tunnel is and what causes CTS.

http://youtu.be/F3VryalTK14

"Gluten sensitivity" may be caused by FODMAPs in everyday foods: Fructose in fruit, Lactose in milk, Galactans in beans, Polyols in chewing gum

FODMAPs is an acronym for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols. FODMAPs are sugars that draw water into the intestinal tract. They may be poorly digested or absorbed, and become fodder for colonic bacteria that produce gas and can cause abdominal distress.

FODMAPs are FLF-GP:

- Fructose: A sugar found in many fruits (hence the name), for example, apples, pears, watermelon, mangoes, grapes, blueberries, tomatoes and tomato concentrate, and all dried fruits; vegetables like sugar-snap peas, sweet peppers and pickles; honey; agave; and jams, dressings and drinks made with high-fructose corn syrup.

- Lactose: Sugar in milk from cows, goats and sheep, present in ice cream, soft cheeses, sour cream and custard.

- Fructans: Soluble fiber found in bananas, garlic, onions, leeks, artichokes, asparagus, beets, wheat and rye.

- Galactans: Complex sugars prominent in dried peas and beans, soybeans, soy milk, broccoli, cabbage and brussels sprouts.

- Polyols: Sugar alcohols (sweeteners) isomalt, mannitol, sorbitol and xylitol, present in stone fruits like avocado, cherries, peaches, plums and apricots.

People with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or gluten sensitivity often find that their symptoms lessen or disappear when avoiding foods rich in FODMAPs; however, it can take 6-8 weeks on a low-FODMAPs diet to see a significant improvement.

References:

When Gluten Sensitivity Isn't Celiac Disease - NYTimes.com http://nyti.ms/1EmXFDl
Celiac disease and nonceliac gluten sensitivity - 2017 review in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology http://buff.ly/2pI2x61

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) - NHSChoices video

NHSChoices: Ankylosing spondylitis is a type of arthritis that affects parts of the spine. In this video, an expert describes the long-term effects of the condition, its most common symptoms and the different treatments available.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cYuwDkykoA

What happens when someone gets heat stroke? TED-Ed video

Have you ever suffered from exertional heat stroke? This condition is caused by intense activity in the heat and is one of the top three killers of athletes and soldiers in training. Douglas J. Casa explains heat stroke's tremendous effects on the human body and details an action plan in case it ever happens to someone you know.

Lesson by Douglas J. Casa, animation by Cinematic.

Bedbugs - National Geographic video

An army of these can attack a person 500 times in one night:



How To Get Rid of Bed Bugs - The Home Depot video:

Healthcare social media #HCSM - top articles

Here are my suggestions for some of the top articles related to healthcare social media (#HCSM) in the past 2-4 weeks:

Impact of Social Media on Dissemination of Research: close correlation between when I tweet the paper and downloads. Prior to me blogging and tweeting about the paper, it was downloaded twice. After, it immediately got 140 downloads http://buff.ly/1yf4ylW

Is It Okay to Choose a Children's Hospital Based on Social Media Presence? http://buff.ly/10mSLae - Apparently, yes, it works.

Self-organization on social media: endo-exo bursts and baseline fluctuations. http://buff.ly/10mTMzc - Twitter is an excitable medium

Naturally Occurring Peer Support through Social Media - Study of Individuals with Mental Illness Using YouTube http://buff.ly/10n1U2t

Online Mate-Retention Tactics on Facebook Are Associated With Relationship Aggression (study) http://buff.ly/1oC0Anl

Wikipedia Emerges as Trusted Internet Source for Ebola Information http://buff.ly/1DterO5

Reputation only: US News & World Report will use Doximity as sole source for physician surveys for "Best Hospitals" http://buff.ly/1ycubDy

The Web Is Dying; Apps Are Killing It - mobile users spend 86% of their time on apps and only 14% on the Web - WSJ http://buff.ly/1xx4QHM

Blogging References for ACR 2014 Social Media Bootcamp http://buff.ly/1EUOnhs

A quick list to Social Media Guidelines for Medics: take your pick http://buff.ly/1qd7y2S

Improving your account security - advice from Google engineer Matt Cutts http://buff.ly/1pcewEs

How to active Find my iPad/iPhone http://buff.ly/1pcfjp4 -- Find my Android device http://buff.ly/1tdoiTo

We found a way how not to use social media, if you run a medical journal http://buff.ly/1xU6iEf

Make social media promotion a "standard of care." Here's how you prove it: Create social media posts for a study and include shortened links. Count the clicks on those links. If that number is greater than zero, the post increased article readership. http://buff.ly/1zRQgZh

The articles were selected from Twitter @DrVes and RSS subscriptions. Please feel free to send suggestions for articles to clinicalcases at gmail.com and you will receive an acknowledgement in the next edition of this publication.



Cycle of Online Information and Physician Education (click here to enlarge the image).




Duty calls. Image source: Xkcd.com, Creative Commons license.