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Paul D. Thompson, MD's avatar

Thank you. I hope you realize the "yelling" is intended to be humorous. It is to remind docs to speak so they can be heard. But I appreiae your comment because no one enjoys listening to screaming. Paul

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Eric M's avatar

Great list! One thing to point out about #5- is that bacterial and viral pneumonia are associated with significant increases in cardiovascular dysfunction including HF ( DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61266-5.) In Europe, NT-pro- BNP is frequently used as a severity marker especially in those with severe CAP.

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Paul D. Thompson, MD's avatar

Eric - That is a great comment. Sorry to be slow in responding. I am slow at social media! Paul

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Ole-A. Breithardt's avatar

Don't YELL at deaf patients - try to speak with a "deep voice" @ low frequency!

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Paul D. Thompson, MD's avatar

Dr. Breithardt - one more thing. Can i use your comment in another post? If so how should i refer to you, name and affilitation. No worries if you don’t want you name used. Thx. Paul

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Paul D. Thompson, MD's avatar

Dr. Breithardt - You are absolutely correct. I often will say something like that, not because I do actually yell at people, but just because I want the point to stick in readers’ minds and also to make the writing somewhat entertaining. I appreciate your sensitivity. I also think a deep voice helps convey being in control, so I think it’s a great point. Thank you for reading. Please pass on the address to others who might be interested in my Rules. Paul

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Paul D. Thompson, MD's avatar

Thanks for reading the rules. I really should do one about simply acknowledging that the patient is there. Some of my doctors only talk to the screen. Paul

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S Koontz's avatar

as a patient please do yell. dent speak softly and have your head turned towards PC screen!!!!

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Paul D. Thompson, MD's avatar

Dr. Koontz - Excellent point. ONe of the most frequent complaints from patients is that the doctor did not look at them. Can I use your comment in a future post. How would you like your name and title presented? Paul

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Paul D. Thompson, MD's avatar

LOL. I am amazed when the fellows almost whisper to the patients, who are in their 80's. My wife says I yell at everybody, but she has a biased sample! P

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Fred Tilden's avatar

Love it especially #6, especially in a noisy urban ER. Took me 1/2 of my career to figure this out so I was yelling at pts for the 2nd 1/2. People kept telling me to pipe down so I knew I had it about right.

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Paul D. Thompson, MD's avatar

Thank you. Paul

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Mohsin Haseeb's avatar

Excellent refresher Dr. Thompson. Thank you

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Paul D. Thompson, MD's avatar

Also, Luis, please encourage others who may benefit from these to subscribe to Substack. Since it's free, I always say that, "It's worth every nickel." Paul

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Paul D. Thompson, MD's avatar

Luis - Thank you for the kind comment and also for pointing out the incorrect reference. I will try to fix that. Paul

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Rafael Olivé Leite's avatar

Very good points. I use to joke residents are allowed to prescribe up to 400 mg furosemide without even telling me. However, I was challenged by the febrile CHF patient… it deserves a deeper dive.

Oh another comment: I loved the “diuresed” verb. I miss this verb in my native language.

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Paul D. Thompson, MD's avatar

Thank you for writing. I am glad you like the posts. AT your suggestion I have added fever in CHF to address in the future. Where do you practice, Dr. Leite. My wife and I, despite our 77 years, are trying to learn Spanish. Please pass along the blog site to others who might enjoy it. Paul

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Rafael Olivé Leite's avatar

Hi Dr Paul I am a Brazilian intensivist. I am glad to see you are learning Spanish. A beautiful language. Yes I will pass the blog. Great work.

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Luis Aybar's avatar

Thank you for these pearls that have the effect of making me feel like a fellow again 10+ yrs later. Haha. Truly grateful.

By the way, reference (3) takes me to a post about fever and not the chloride level post it suggests in your writing. Reference (2) is correct.

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