Grand Rounds, Vol 4, No 42 – The Seinfeld Edition

Dr Shock tells us that drug use does not appear to be related to drug policy, as countries with more stringent policies (e.g., the US) did not have lower levels of illegal drug use than countries with more liberal policies (e.g.,The Netherlands). Meanwhile Jerry and George wonder where Holland is.

The wait for the restaurant on the show occurs in real time – 23 minutes. During which time, basically nothing happens. Well, nothing other than the earth moving. And The Samurai Radiologist can tell you exactly how far it moved during that wait in the restaurant. Or during the time you had sex. Or any thing you happen to be doing. Pretty cool.

Dr Toni Brayer shows us just how impossible it can be to figure out what the costs are for a hospital procedure. Reminds me of the episode where George finds out be needs his tonsils removed.

GEORGE: (To Jerry) Let me ask you something.. How much do you think it would cost to have tonsils and adenoids removed in the hospital?

JERRY: Well, an overnight stay in a hospital? Minor surgery? I dunno, four grand.

GEORGE: Uh-huh. And how much does the healer charge?

KRAMER: First visit? Thirty-eight bucks.

GEORGE: Oh, yeah? Holistic.. that’s what I need. That’s the answer.

Elaine’s boss, J Peterman, is off again on a world jaunt, this time to visit his friend the traveling Doc Kate. She’s in Pakistan, training the locals on how to diagnose and treat Sexually Transmitted Infections. Stay safe, Dr Kate.

George has a massage that stimulates him in a way he’s a bit uncomfortable with. Next time he should just read Fixing Posture and learn to take care of his back himself. And if he decides on aquatic therapy, Dean Moyer at the Back Pain Blog has everything he needs to know.

When the conversation gets rough, try to find the humor, says Barbara Kivowitz at In Sickness and in Health. Maybe that’s why Julia Dreyfuss can’t stop laughing every time Mr Costanza tries to get off that famous line “You wanna’ piece of me?“

Kramer hires an intern to get all his stuff done. Too bad he didn’t read Apple Quack’s two part post on project management.

The group has a contest to see who can remain “Master of their Domain” the longest. Kramer is the first to go. Maybe it because he eats watermelon, which JC Jones tells us increases blood flow to the genitals and may increase libido.

Anesthesiaoboist has compiled a very nice gallery of Medicine in Art, including my favorites, the ancient Persian drawings. I think she might also have included this painting of the famous Dr Van Nostrand…

Did you know that it was Rodney Dangerfield who gave Jerry Seinfeld his biggest break, by featuring him on his HBO special? Maybe Diabetes needs a break too, says Amy at Diabetes Mine. It’s the Rodney Dangerfield of diseases, ranked by the public lower than other less serious diseases as a cause of mortality.

The Cockroach Catcher has a fascinating post this week about how dried Chinese plums can be used as natural oral rehydration therapy. Hmm..maybe Kramer should try some. Those pretzels are making him thirsty.

Kramer and Jerry’s landlord has replaced their shower heads with low flow models to save money on water, and no one feels like themselves without a good shower. That’s pretty much what the government has been trying to do with health care costs since Medicare was started. At least I think I got that right. It’s very complicated, and Covert Rationing does a great job of trying to explain it.

George’s girlfriend can’t have sex with him for 6 weeks, and he discovers that without sex, he gets smarter. Maybe he should have read Dr Alvarez’s post on brain health and found some other way.

David E Williams has written a fascinating post about how a man’s Google search led to his conviction for murdering his wife using ethylene glycol. Hmm.. Do you think George might have googled “wedding envelope glue death“?

Vitum Medicus compares the med school class of 1960 to that of 2010, in his post Are Today’s Medical Students Wusses?. Hopefully, they are nicer than Elaine’s boyfriend who breaks up with her after he becomes a doctor. Or, as he puts it “I’m sorry, Elaine. I always knew that after I became a doctor, I would dump whoever I was with and find someone better. That’s the dream of becoming a doctor.”

Elaine loves her Big Salad. But she’d better be careful- those tomatoes may have salmonella, says Paul Auerbach. Read his post for a great summary of the problem, plus some great advice on food handling.

R Murse summarizes California’s new regulations to help fight prescription drug abuse, but it’s too late to catch Jerry’s drug-using accountant, who’s already left the country.

For Chronic Babe, mixing it up occasionally is important in keeping healthy habits, whether it’s a change in routine or a new recipe. I’d say that’s something to dance about, wouldn’t you?

Kramer, as always, is the only member of the group with a heart (most of the time, anyway)… He’d have liked these following posts –

And that’s it, folks. Proof that everything in life, or at least in the medical blogosphere, can be related to Seinfeld.
Thanks to all who submitted posts. I tried to include everyone, although a few duplicate posts on the same topic came in, and so I took the one that arrived first. A few posts arrived late on Monday, and I’m sorry I just could not include them. If that was your first time submitting, and I didn’t include you, please don’t be discouraged – after all, there’s always next week!

Thanks as always to Nick Genes of Blogborygmi, who makes it all happen. Next week’s Grand Rounds will be held at Unprotected Text.