Editor's Note, Volume 10 Issue 5

D’Arcy Little, MD, CCFP, FCFP, FRCPC Medical Director, JCCC and HealthPlexus.NET

I am pleased to introduce the fall issue of the Journal of Current Clinical Care.

Dr. Khaled Almansoori presents Spinal Injuries among Paediatric Patients. Due to the distinctive anatomic and biomechanical features of the growing paediatric spine, children are susceptible to unique patterns of spinal injuries. Although clinical examination can help guide management, physicians are often required to rely on advanced imaging. Imaging interpretation can be challenging when considering that abnormal parameters among adults, are often within normal physiological limits in children. In general, spinal injuries in children younger than nine years of age are often managed non-operatively, while adolescents are typically managed by adult treatment principles. With the exception of neurologic injuries, most paediatric spinal injuries demonstrate good to excellent prognosis and outcomes.

In their article, Epiglottitis: An Under-recognized, Life-Threatening Infection, Dr. Pradeep Shenoy and Marah Mansour, discuss acute epiglottitis which is a potentially life-threatening infection of the supraglottic structures, epiglottis and aryepiglottic folds causing fatal airway obstruction. The disease caused more mortality and morbidity until the introduction of the H. influenza type B vaccine in 1993. Currently the mortality rate is between 7 to 20% in adults. 65% of cases are potentially missed by primary care physicians. Urgent diagnosis and treatment is essential and is reviewed in the article.

Dr. Michael Gordon, Emeritus Professor of Medicine from the University of Toronto, offers a beautiful Medical Narrative on his Memories from Aberdeen: A Remarkable Internship. Dr. Gordon studied medicine at the University of St. Andrews in Dundee, Scotland and upon finishing his studies he headed to Aberdeen City Hospital where he followed one of his favourite professors, Dr. William Walker who had been recruited to Aberdeen to be the Chief of Medicine. Dr. Walker's seminars in ethics ultimately influenced Dr. Gordon's decision to study ethics at the University of Toronto.

I hope you enjoy this latest edition.