Well this last month has been fabolous. I had a "regular" job for once - showing up at work from 8 to 5, and having my nights and weekends off! I was in the Same Day Clinic, kind of like an urgent care clinic but only for our established patients that we see at UNC Internal Medicine. You see the range of things, but most common being colds, sinus problems, musculoskeletal problems, and diarrhea. I got to perform "outpatient" procedures, such as injecting joints, incise and drain some abscesses (collections of pus), and did a spinal tap on a really fat guy.
It's funny what the news and media can really brew up in the community. You have maybe heard of the outbreak of salmonella in Peter Pan peanut butter. It's been all over the news, and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has confirmed it. Apparently a batch of Peter Pan had been contaminated with a bacteria called salmonella. This is usually found in raw chicken or poultry, sometimes in raw eggs, and can give you a pretty bad gastroenteritis - an infection/inflammation of the GI tract, often causing fever, abdominal pain, and bloody diarrhea.
Anything outbreak in the news inevitably makes it to the doctor's office...and they come in droves. I had a number of patients who stated that they ate Peter Pan, and then had an upset stomach and come to the doctor to ask if they got infected by the Peter Pan. Of course, no one I saw actually had the infection. But some of them even wanted to sue Peter Pan. I told them they were fine.
One person even brought their peanut butter in. Sure enough, it was from the batch that got contaminated. If the 1st 4 numbers on the top of the can start with "2111" then the CDC recommends you throw it away and if you're sick, see your doctor. She brings it in, sure enough its "2111". So, being the curious doc, I open the peanut butter and smell it. Smells like peanut butter to me. I even ask my attending if I can culture it and see if it grows salmonella. But we didn't, and it got thrown away. I advise the patient to throw away the rest of her Peter Pan at home. She'll be fine. She had no bloody diarrhea or fever. I reassure her. She says okay, but if she gets sick, she's gonna sue!
I have to say, being a doctor, I complain about being busy all the time. But, its never boring!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
My old Hopkins housemate was the lead person in the Peter Pan - Salmonella outbreak. She told me that all Peter Pan jars have the "2111" code on it, and she said the factory may close for good. Amazing what good ol' epidemiology can do to business.
Post a Comment