Get off our backs

Swaddling: will it get babies onto their backs for sleep?

INTRODUCTION The supine sleep position is recommended to reduce sudden infant death syndrome risk. Swaddling may improve adherence with supine placement. AIM To assess knowledge, attitudes, and practice regarding swaddling among adult caregivers of 0- to 3-month-old infants. METHODS Cross-sectional descriptive survey. RESULTS All 103 adults interviewed had swaddled their infant. Common re...

Owning our off-ramps

In this issue of JCHIMP, Meade et al., publish the results of qualitative analysis regarding a second-year rotation in tracing the outcome of discharged patients. They report that their residents develop remarkable insights into the types of failures and miscommunications that plague our discharge processes. This perspective piece places this article in the context of literature seeking to unde...

Get off the back burner!

A 65-year-old male presented with chronic mechanical back pain and a 6-month history of a discrete, hyperpig-mented reticular rash on his lower back. On further questioning, the patient admitted to daily use of an electric heating pad over the distribution of the rash (Figure 1). The diagnosis was erythema ab igne (EAI). Historically, EAI has been associated with repeated and prolonged exposure...

Get excess salt out of our diet.

Why do our kidneys get old?

The majority of the human population shows a decline in renal clearance with age and a loss of renal physiologic reserve. Kidneys are increasingly less able to deal with stressful challenges such as a salt or acid load. It is not clear what underlies this aging-related change and whether it is inevitable or can be modified in such a way as to preserve renal function throughout the life span. Th...