The journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
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J R Coll Physicians Edinb · Mar 2010
Current controversies: thrombolysis for patients with acute ischaemic stroke aged over 80.
Stroke is the major cause of disability in the community. Most strokes are due to blocked arteries in the brain. ⋯ However, thrombolysis can cause bleeding into the brain, so the treatment should only be given when the benefits outweigh the risks. Controversy still exists about the risks and benefits in certain groups of patients, and there is variation in practice between stroke physicians, reflecting these uncertainties.
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J R Coll Physicians Edinb · Mar 2010
Comparative StudyThe use of combined physiological parameters in the early recognition of the deteriorating acute medical patient.
Early warning scores (EWS) are widely used to allow early recognition of the deteriorating patient. We aimed to test their ability to predict major deterioration in medical patients. ⋯ Commonly used physiological parameters and existing EWS systems are useful at identifying sick patients. The discriminant functions described here appear to have a role in this setting but require validation in future studies.
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J R Coll Physicians Edinb · Sep 2009
Biography Historical ArticleHubert Airy, contemporary men of science and the migraine aura.
Although there had been occasional references to the visual aura of migraine even in ancient medicine, little attention was given to the phenomenon until the first half of the nineteenth century when French authors began to describe it. In the medicine of English-speaking countries, apart from a few descriptions, it went largely unnoticed until the British Astronomer Royal, Sir George Airy, described his own experience of the visual aura in 1865. ⋯ The topic of the migraine aura was almost immediately taken up by two of the younger Airy's contemporaries and fellow Cambridge medical graduates, Peter Wallrock Latham and Edward Liveing, in their monographs. Subsequently, migraine with aura quickly became a well-recognised clinical entity in British medicine.
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J R Coll Physicians Edinb · Sep 2009
Historical ArticleThe residency mess at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh: history and traditions.
For almost 250 years the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary was staffed with resident physicians and surgeons. This paper traces the history and the traditions of the Residency Mess, its inhabitants' lives, duties and leisure activities and how these have changed over the years.
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J R Coll Physicians Edinb · Dec 2008
Biography Historical ArticleJacopo Berengario da Carpi: the first anatomy book with a complete series of illustrations.