Editor's Note
D’Arcy Little, MD, CCFP, FRCPC
Medical Director, JCCC and HealthPlexus.NET
I am writing this editorial on a flight from Toronto to Raleigh–Durham North Carolina. Duke University puts on a comprehensive radiology review every year. I have been looking forward to this immersion in my speciality for a while now. CME is very important to me. I always feel renewed after a good course or a good article that reinforces what I know and/or adds to my body of knowledge. Whenever I return home, I see direct applications to my daily patient care.
This is what we are trying to do at The Journal of Current Clinical Care (JCCC). We want to provide CME that is interesting and useful in clinical medicine. We are always looking for collaborators to write articles or provide suggestions, so please keep this in mind.
The current issue of the Journal has several interesting articles. We have an article on Potentially Fatal Necrotizing Fasciitis in the Head and Neck by Drs. Shenoy and Bali from the ENT Service of Cambellton Regional Hospital. I personally like this article. It is an important and interesting topic, and has radiology images! While the disease is more common in the extremities, this article describes a case in the head and neck secondary to a dental infection. While rare in this location, this infection, which commonly affects immunocompromised patients, may be severe due to spread through deep neck spaces and hence produce life-threatening cervicofacial necrotising fasciitis. As a result, early consideration of this diagnosis in the context of a quickly spreading infection and extreme pain in the involved area is key.
Dr. Francesca Cheung from the Lynde Centre for Dermatology presents an article on Impetigo, the most common bacterial skin infection. The diagnosis is usually clinical and treatment typically involves local wound care, along with antibiotic therapy either topical alone or in conjunction with systemic therapy.
Dr. Kuzmarov et al. from Santa Carbrini Hospital, decribe the Development of a Replacement Pathology Service in a community Hospital in Quebec. The article details how multiple partners, including regional partners, private industry, the University Health Network and the Ministry of Health were able to create a temporary pathology service, including telepathology, when there was a abrupt departure of pathologists from the hospital to ensure the continuance of clinical services.
Dr. Michael Gordon, from the Baycrest Centre of Geriatric Care in Toronto, offers our readers a practical review of the latest Canadian Dementia Guidelines in his article What's New from the Canadian Consensus Conference on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Dementia.
I hope you enjoy this issue of JCCC. As always, we look forward to your comments and your article submissions.