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Hospital accused of ‘systems failure’
THE family of a woman whose lung cancer was only detected after her death has accused the South Tipperary General Hospital where she died of “systems failure”. An inquest into the death of Teresa...
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Needless surgery due to flawed cancer test
Countless Irish men may have needlessly undergone invasive surgery and chemotherapy because a widely-used blood test erroneously said they had life-threatening prostate cancer. The controversial...
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Diagnostic machine for heart disease
A NEW diagnostic machine for congenital heart disease will allow cardiologists at the Mater hospital in Dublin to make a diagnosis in real time using 3D images. Consultant cardiologist Kevin Walsh said...
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Psychiatric diagnosis not scientific but subjective
However, this would not be the case if I found myself being involuntarily detained in a psychiatric hospital. Prof Aiden Corvin seems to think otherwise (Irish Times, July 31st). He argued that, “If...
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Reaction to Dr Ciarán Crumney
[Letter to Times >] Sir, – I would like to congratulate Dr Ciarán Crummey for a very thought-provoking article (“Psychiatric diagnosis not scientific but subjective”, Opinion Analysis, August 30th)....
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Muiris Houston: Even the best cancer systems will never be 100% accurate
Given the historical nature of legal figures, a major factor in the discrepancy is undoubtedly the parlous state of breast cancer services in the State prior to their reorganisation under our first...
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Surgeon allegedly failed to inform patient of cancer scan
A surgeon who allegedly failed to follow up on a scan for a woman who subsequently died of cancer faced seven allegations of poor professional performance at a Medical Council fitness-to-practise...
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“Asperger’s disorder” no more
[From the Irish Times >] The term “Asperger’s disorder” is being dropped from the new edition of the major diagnostic reference book for psychiatrists. The symptoms of Asperger’s disorder will come...
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Belfast best UK record for diagnosis of Alzheimer’s
Belfast has the best record of any city in the United Kingdom for identifying people with dementia, according to an analysis of official health statistics carried out by the UK’s Alzheimer’s Society....
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Muiris Houston: Narrative diagnoses, rather than labels, can describe...
Writing in the Postgraduate Medical Journal , Dr John Launer wonders why, given the complexity and uncertainty of health, the concept of “narrative diagnosis” hasn’t become established in medicine. “As...
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Breast self-examination a waste of time, says cancer registry chief
Regular breast self-examination is a “waste of time” in the early detection of breast cancer, while there is “very little evidence” that annual prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests have any impact on...
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Muiris Houston: More technology and less tolerance paves the way for...
Can doctors overdiagnose? At first glance it seems like a silly question. Surely diagnosis is one of our prime functions as medics? Patients expect it and not making a diagnosis would seem to be a...
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GP failed to diagnose life-threatening abdominal infection
A GP who failed to diagnose a patient with a life-threatening infection that created a mass the size of a melon in her abdomen was found guilty of poor professional performance at a Medical Council...
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Letter to Times: “our society itself is not a particularly salubrious...
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Dermot Walsh (October 15th) asks what “conclusions may we draw from a situation where the abnormal has become the norm?” My own conclusion, for what it is worth after a half...
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Lancet: scan can predict heart attacks from plaques
The discovery was made in a study researching whether a scanner could pick up the outlines of fatty “plaques” in arteries. The results are published in ‘The Lancet’ today. (Independent) >Filed...
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Beware psychiatrists’ advice on ADHD
If an idea goes unchallenged, it eventually becomes accepted as fact, even if there’s no evidence to support the idea being pushed. That’s why the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) in the UK...
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Poor diagnosis exposes hundreds to potentially deadly, “chameleon-like” Lyme...
There have been 19 cases of Lyme Disease reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre of the Health Service Executive (HSE) to date this year, more than double the eight cases reported in...
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TV drama House leads doctors to mystery diagnosis
If you’re unlucky enough to be stricken with a rare medical condition, you’d better hope your doctor watches the right TV show. That was the lesson for one German man with severe heart failure and a...
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People with rare disease can wait 10 years for right diagnosis
“Although there has been some progress, with better communication between patient groups and specialists in the medical field, it remains the case that those who have received an accurate diagnosis are...
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