A requiem for vagotomy.

Requiem

"In never considering neuromuscular disease to be untreatable, Yves Rideau has found ways to ameliorate every aspect of these conditions. His work has resulted in immeasurably enhancing the quality of life of his patients". This dedication included into the Guide to Evaluation in Management of Neuromuscular Diseases, 1999, made by a coworker who studied in Poitiers from 1981 to 1983, summarizes...

Requiem for the "Jaga"

Requiem for Babinski.

With the arrival of the total body scanner and the ubiquitous ultrasound machine, I wonder if I really need to continue examining my patients? Should I discard my patella hammer and tuning fork and just bring my laptop and personal digital assistant to work? What would Charcot, Rhomberg or Babinski think of all those computer printouts revealing the answers in black and white, without having to...

Requiem for my lovely.

Thirty-five years ago, B.F. Skinner (1976) lamented a decreasing trend in the prevalence of cumulative records in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior ( JEAB). The editorial began with the two memorable lines, ‘‘Evidently we have not long to wait for an issue of JEAB without a single cumulative record! I shall not miss the records so much as the kinds of experiments that could s...

A requiem for the cholecystokinin provocation test?

BACKGROUND The cholecystokinin provocation test (CCKPT) has been claimed to predict a better symptomatic result after cholecystectomy in patients with acalculous biliary pain. AIMS To examine the predictive value of the CCKPT for symptom relief after cholecystectomy in both CCKPT positive and negative patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS Fifty eight patients with acalculous biliary pain underwent...