Bed Head Ticket and Diagnostic Tips

This is just to expose the duplicity of medical wheeler dealing in public and private hospitals.

1. Blood picture is one of those tests that can discover many underlying diseases and rarely requested in present day setup.

Coulter blood count is almost superfluous and rarely diagnose disease in early stages.

Whereas, a simple blood picture (by a competent guy or girl) can diagnose liver diseases, kidney diseases and haemolytic uraemic syndrome (advanced stage of  shock).

2. Blood count does not help except in an advanced stage of leukaemia.

There is a cell called Natural Killer Cell in the blood picture.

This is the cell that eliminates cancer cells and gives a clue to underlying cancer.

During D.J.V.P. insurrection, I used to go to the laboratory secretly, during lunch time and examine (preliminary screening) all the blood films.

There was a blood film of a GP on the tray.

I examined it and found a lot of Natural Killer Cells (simple staining) and I wanted to talked to the surgeon (our PR guy).

I told him this guy has a prostate cancer and did you do a PR.

He said NO.

He asked how do you know?

I told him you have to put your foot in.

He got the message!

This guy (GP) had been coming to the hospital for nealy 9 months and nobody had considered an underlying serious condition.

He did have a prostate cancer and I did not explore anymore.

It brings me to the next topic.

4. Next important thing for me is the Temperature Chart.

This guy who presented with underlying cancer would have had a consistently elevated basal temperature.

His presentation was PUO or Pyrexia of Unknown Origin.

There is a standard procedure for PUO.


5. Next important thing is ESR.

Things were bad under Sirimavo and NM time.

I did neither had a MLT nor a Microscope at my Base Hospital.

I did not have any facilities and ESR was the only test.

I managed to get a stock of capillary tubes.

ESR had to be mounted everyday by 8AM.

I come to ward at 9AM.

I look at the serum and diagnose hepatitis and I confirm that with the sclera.

Hepatitis was endemic then.

Cholera was sporadic.

Careful examination above the serum would indicate the platelet status (low or high).

Malaria had to be diagnosed with the temperature chart but I took several blood films and sent them to the MRI for confirmation.

List can go on but let me stop here by saying that every test has to be supported with BHT records.

Otherwise, it becomes a hapless routine!

Reliability of the tests is fundamental to the diagnosis.

Specificity and Sensitivity are the key components.

None of the current tests is specific nor sensitive in the 21st century.

I can kick the bucket now in peace and I won't  subject to any of these tests except at the Border Zone of a country for a VISA application.

They are only interested in Tuberculosis which is very difficult to diagnose.

In closing, I must state, one of my aunts who was a nurse was diagnosed as a cancer but she died of tuberculosis.

Everybody missed it!

I was never consulted but duly attended the funeral.

"Rare manifestation of commoner diseases are commoner than rare diseases" is a catch phrase in medicine.

She did have all the tell tale signs and a few symptoms.

Perhaps, she would have hid the symptoms to the five girls in the family (fairly well educated).

Uncle I reserve my comments, perhaps he may have had some grudge with my father.

My father of course neglected us and cared for them until they were fully employed.

From them, I have not received even an extra nib for my pen that got me to the university.

Once I made it a point to state that fact emphatically.

He blushed.

I used to love Parker Pens and I still have one as a souvenir.