Jeannette Y. Wick, RPh, MBA, FASCP

A recent study showed that a large number of surgeons in the United States are reaching retirement age with no plans to put down their scalpel. What this can mean to the patients they treat has yet to be determined.

When it comes to toxicology, the dose often makes the poison. Consider this report of a case of apparent mineralocorticoid excess apparently caused by licorice root extract.

Thymoma is rare and most known for its presence in 15% of patients who have myasthenia gravis. Thymoma tumors can be quite large. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment for thymoma, but when thymoma recurs (as it does in 10% to 30% of patients), the best course of action is often unclear.

While rhabdomyolysis has been recognized as a consequence of crush injuries since the late 1800s, the most significant step toward finding the condition's causes, mechanisms, and management strategies occurred when physicians who treated crush injuries from the 1941 London Blitz identified a link between rhabdomyolysis and renal impairment.

Although hospitals routinely implement peer review processes to ensure that physicians are meeting the prevailing standards of care, the procedure has been associated with controversy.

The high volume of distal radius procedures combined with an elevated risk for adverse outcomes such as malunion, loss of radial length, inclination, and volar or dorsal angulation make surgeries in the forearm ripe for malpractice claims.

Since inactivity accounts for 10-16% of breast cancers, colon cancers, and diabetes cases, as well as 22% of heart disease, some researchers believe too much sitting can cause just as much harm as smoking.

Up to one-quarter of the 1.6 million amputees in the United States develop painful neuromas that can interfere with even the most carefully fitted prosthetic devices.

Anniversaries often prompt reflection, and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing is no exception.

Among its comprehensive review articles on spinal deformities, fractures, and other pediatric orthopedic conditions, the December 2013 issue of Surgery includes a concise and interesting article on the many foot problems orthopedic surgeons may encounter in children.

Early repair of complete hamstring tendon rupture offers good-to-excellent recovery of hamstring strength and endurance in professional football players, although the injury may be a marker of elite-level physical deterioration.

Examining evidence on vitamin D deficiency in elderly and young populations expands the hormone's clinical knowledge base.

While the use of acute, high-dose systemic corticosteroids probably has no clinically significant effect on wound healing, chronic systemic corticosteroids may impair postoperative healing in susceptible patients.

Using nutritional supplement mixtures consisting of arginine, glutamine, and beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) may speed up wound healing in diabetic foot ulcers.