Harry Houdini's Appendix Made Him Disappear

Harry Houdini's death always seemed a little suspect to me. The story I had heard was that someone punched him the stomach so hard (because Houdini had claimed he could take any punch) that Houdini collapsed and died. According to Wikipedia, not so (well, not exactly anyway):

Harry Houdini died of peritonitis secondary to a ruptured appendix. It has been speculated that Houdini was killed by a McGill University student, J. Gordon Whitehead, who delivered multiple blows to Houdini's abdomen while he was in Montreal.

The eyewitnesses were students named Jacques Price and Sam Smilovitz (sometimes called Jack Price and Sam Smiley). Their accounts generally agreed. The following is according to Price's description of events. Houdini was reclining on his couch after his performance, having an art student sketch him. When Whitehead came in and asked if it was true that Houdini could take any blow to the stomach, Houdini replied in the affirmative. In this instance, he was hit three times, before Houdini protested. Whitehead reportedly continued hitting Houdini several times afterwards, and Houdini acted as though he were in some pain. Price recounted that Houdini stated that if he had had time to prepare himself properly, he would have been in a better position to take the blows.^[26] Although in serious pain, Houdini nonetheless continued to travel without seeking medical attention. Harry had apparently been suffering from appendicitis for several days and refusing medical treatment. His appendix would likely have burst on its own without the trauma.^[27]

When Houdini arrived at the Garrick Theater in Detroit, Michigan, on October 24, 1926, for what would be his last performance, he had a fever of 40°C degrees (104 F). Despite a diagnosis of acute appendicitis, Houdini took the stage. He was reported to have passed out during the show, but was revived and continued. Afterwards, he was hospitalized at Detroit's Grace Hospital.^[28] Houdini died of peritonitis from a ruptured appendix at 1:26 p.m. in Room 401 on October 31 (Halloween), 1926, at the age of 52.

After taking statements from Price and Smilovitz, Houdini's insurance company concluded that the death was due to the dressing-room incident and paid double indemnity.

Anyway, case solved. Happy Thanksgiving!

The Popularity Scale

Lindsay Lohan in the movie "Mean Girls" demonstrates the stereotypical view of popularity in a high school setting with a few semi-realistic twists. However, an interesting piece in the NYTimes a while back about looked at the real lives of teenagers and how one's place on the popularity scale during adolescence affects their social standing in the future, and perhaps their health. Where were you on the popularity scale?

The cult of popularity that reigns in high school can look quaint from a safe distance, like your 20th reunion. By then the social order may have turned over like an hourglass: teenagers who were socially invisible have emerged as colorful characters, confident, transformed. Others seem preserved in time, same as ever, while some former princes and queen bees are diminished or simply absent, now invisible themselves.

For years researchers focused much attention on those prominent teenagers, tracking their traits and behaviors. The studies found, to no one’s surprise, that social dominance in adolescence often involves an aggressive, selfish streak that may not play well outside the locker-lined corridors.

The cult disbands, and the rules change.

Yet high school students know in their gut that popularity is far more than a superficial, temporary competition, and in recent years psychologists have confirmed that intuition. The newer findings suggest that adolescents’ niche in school — their popularity, and how they understand and exploit it — offers important clues to their later psychological well-being.

Not too surprisingly, the kids who were the most 'social' in high school seem to do better in the long run, since a social person will (should?) always be well-liked in society, but one can only be a prom/homecoming queen once. Besides, having social skills is marketable asset. From a medicine standpoint, I wonder if more attention should be paid to such social trends by adolescent psychiatrists. Furthermore, if one can identify kids at risk, those at the lowest rungs, how does one approach them? Try to teach them social skills? Put them in an environment where they are better able to socialize? I think there will always be an "in" group and an "out" group among adolescents but the key here needs to be to identify the teens who are at risk for having a poor self-image and low self-worth, regardless of how 'popular' they seem to be, and then find a way to help them grow and achieve a lasting sense of self-worth.

The Heparin Mishaps: Would More Technology Help?

Dennis Quaid? Heparin? Confusing, perhaps, but there have been several recent cases of overdoses of the drug heparin. One case unfortunately involved the children of actor Dennis Quaid. Some have proposed that automated systems may have prevented these errors, but the Wall Street Journal's health blog argues otherwise:

There’s just one problem in this case: automation wouldn’t have done much for the tots in Texas. A pharmacist made an error mixing heparin solution, often used to flush IV lines — and IV flushes often aren’t part of physician orders anyway. You can read the statement from Christus Spohn, which also says there’s no indication as yet that heparin contributed to the deaths in the NICU.

Doctors typically prescribe a dose of a particular drug over a particular time, and whether it should be administered intravenously or by mouth, for example. But a pharmacist often decides just how the drug will be prepared, whether by syringe into an IV or pre-mixed with saline. The pharmacist may note that a heparin flush is indicated before and after administration, or the nurse may know that it’s just part of the standard procedure.

The article does go on to note that some advanced systems do exist, but even they have their drawbacks:

Another up-and-coming technology might have helped the Quaids, but not the Texas tykes: Bar Code Medication Administration, or BCMA. Those systems require medications to be labeled with bar codes in the pharmacy identifying drug, dose and patient, and then checked — via scanner and computer — against codes in the medical record and a patient armband. But if the wrong dose is mixed and mislabeled in the pharmacy, overdoses can still occur.

“There still is that interface of human to computer that is always going to be plagued with problems,” Zachary Stacy, an associate professor at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, tells Health Blog.

Clearly, the human element means these systems will always have some level of error, but I think this should not be used as a strong argument against their use. Any reduction in the rate of errors is an improvement, even if not all errors can be eliminated. What these hospitals really need to do is examine the processes and safeguards they had in place and why they failed to prevent this error. If they have too few techs who are perhaps overworked, the solution may actually lie in hiring more staff rather than switching systems.

Maladies of the Rich and Famous, Part 1

Just because someone is rich and/or famous doesn't mean they're free of the same afflictions that plague us all. In fact, some people are willing to break the law to find out the ailments of the affluent. Here are some interesting medical diagnosis of famous people you may or may not be aware of:


Jamie Lee Curtis

I remember learning about gender determination on a genetic level, and hearing Jamie Lee Curtis' name mentioned. Why? Because apparently she may be a hermaphrodite. According to Snope though, the reality is undetermined. Based on her movies though, I think she wants us to believe that she is all woman.









Dudley Moore

I suppose people may argue about how famous he is now, but back in the 80's, I think he was pretty well known. Dudley Moore starred in films such as Arthur and 10. Unfortunately, Dudley Moore died of progressive supranuclear palsy, a degenerative neurological condition that mimics Parkinson's Disease.







Oprah Winfrey

The talk show host's battle with the bulge has been legendary. However, perhaps there was a medical condition. Oprah recently revealed that she had been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism which then became hypothyroidism, leaving her overweight and easily fatigued.







Jay Cutler

The Denver Broncos quarterback was recently diagnosed with Type I Diabetes.













Michael Jackson

The King of Pop claims his, um, appearance changes are due to a skin condition called vitiligo. How does that explain the hair, the nose, and the bizarre behavior? Anyway, to quote an old joke, Michael Jackson proves that only in America can a black man grow up to be a white woman. Snap.

Awake: The Movie - Hollywood Meets Anesthesiology

I recently read an article on the recently released Awake: The Movie. As the movie's IMDB profile notes, "The story focuses on a man who suffers "anesthetic awareness" and finds himself awake and aware, but paralyzed, during heart surgery. His young wife must wrestle with her own demons as a drama unfolds around them." Yawn. The only thing this movie has going for it is Jessica Alba. Heh, I just used that as an excuse to find that gallery. At any rate, the movie has some anesthesiologists concerned due to its portrayal of unscrupulous anesthesiologists torturing a patient and planning his murder during a procedure in which he has already been sedated but is still aware.

I have not seen this movie, nor do I plan to. The trailer I saw just sounded ridiculous. I sure hope no one out there is dumb enough to believe that this is commonplace. If so, that person probably also believes in The Force, hobbits, and the Matrix. How do movies like this even get made? Do they just draw ideas out of a hat? I remember when I was younger, people would always tell me to be "creative" by coming up with an idea, putting it in a bubble and then drawing lines to other bubbles and seeing what I came up with. At least, I think that was the idea. I imagine the bubble system here went something like:

"Jessica Alba" --> "Some dude" ---> "Grey's Anatomy's popular right?" --> "Okay, hospital" ---> "Jessica scared means she has to run around, right?" ---> "Okay, some kinda thriller" --> "Uhh... " ---> "What if the dude was really awake during surgery and people were trying to kill him?" ---> "JACKPOT"

If that's all it takes, then... damn, I am in the wrong field. Hollywood, here I come!

Updated 2015-12-07