I'm Dr. Joshua Schwimmer, a nephrologist in New York City. • Kidney Notes was the first active nephrology blog, and The National Library of Medicine still uses Kidney Notes as an example of how to formally cite blogs in the medical literature. • Professionally, you can find me at Kidney.nyc. • Kidney Notes is for educational purposes only, not medical advice. Consult qualified health care professionals. See disclaimer.

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Know Your Patient's Face

A colleague recently picked up an occult pericardial effusion in a dialysis patient which required a pericardial window. The tip-off was the loss of nasolabial folds -- in a previous patient, she had seen facial swelling associated with a pericardial effusion, so she was suspicious enough to check an echocardiogram. Because she knew him well, she was able to pick up the subtle change in her patient's face.