The recreational and medicinal desirability of marijuana (Cannabis sativa), fomented by widespread and generationally shifted social acceptance, has created a perfect storm for the medical community. The emergence of this drug highlights the lack of scientific and clinical understanding of its effects, including those that are health adverse as well as medicinal. This review illustrates […]

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is more common among youths involved in the juvenile justice system than the general pediatric population; the estimated rate of TBI in this population is as high as 30%. • The neurobiologic effects of TBI depend on the severity of impact; in general, TBI is characterized by hematomas and diffuse axonal […]

Pregnancy Complications Following Prenatal Exposure to SSRIs or Maternal Psychiatric Disorders: Results From Population-Based National Register Data Heli Malm, M.D., Ph.D., Andre Sourander, M.D., Ph.D., Mika Gissler, Ph.D., David Gyllenberg, M.D., Ph.D.,Susanna Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki, Ph.Lic., Ian W. McKeague, Ph.D., Miia Artama, Ph.D., Alan S. Brown, M.D., M.P.H. Received: December 21, 2014 Accepted: May 11, 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.14121575 […]

© Dr. Rajas Deshpande An old man of 82 was admitted in London ON once with stroke during his “regular” morning lovemaking with his contemporary wife. An accurate history and onset time is necessary so we can use a clot buster injection within 4 hours of onset. He qualified and eventually recovered too. I was […]

What are the details of actual expenditure in training a PG doctor? If the govt wants them to stay and serve, it should pay. Stop this slavery and exploitation of the meritorious! Why are generations of promising intelligent doctors being held responsible for perpetual poverty, illiteracy and a failed govt healthcare system? A state govt. […]

With interview of a renowned Cardiologist. © Dr. Rajas Deshpande Lifehack: a strategy or technique adopted in order to manage one’s time and daily activities in a more efficient way. Are you talented, hardworking, hurried, bitter, artificial, irritable, insecure, obsessive, egoistic, money-minded, dissatisfied and longing for a better life? Yes? Then you must be a […]

A 13 point charter for Indian Doctors Happy Doctor’s Day! © Dr. Rajas Deshpande 1. If we want to survive without being exploited and improve healthcare in India, we must forget all our differences and unite for this cause. We must be able to overcome all personal differences to realize what great strength we are. […]

Humans? © Dr. Rajas Deshpande 2 AM, about 20 years ago. Civil Hospital Casualty Nanded. World asleep. In came rushing a crowded jeep. Panicked passengers carried someone in a blood soaked bedsheet. Huge bearded man in 40s. Heavy bodybuilder. White kurta pajama now blood red. Hacked by many with mashetes (kukri), swords, knives. From head […]

© Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Will I ever win? I feel suicidal.” said the 25 year old orphan with Multiple Sclerosis. In a world drooling over the stories of “10 Richest” or “20 Most Beautiful” women, there’s hardly any scope for noticing an orphan girl who fights alone against an incurable disease. VS, a dignified young […]

© Dr. Rajas Deshpande 1. The sound of restarting heartbeats when resuscitating a patient. 2. Closure after a difficult surgery where only the surgeon knows how he / she has saved a life. 3. A perfect surgery / procedure / stenting without complication. 4. Seeing the beautiful cute face of a healthy newborn. 5. Managing […]

© Dr. Rajas Deshpande “He is angry with us, doctor. He refuses to recognize us, even his parents and children sometimes. It was all my fault, I fought with him so many times over small things. I have said sorry so many times now.. But he is not ready to talk again like he did.. […]

© Dr. Rajas Deshpande “You are in our prayers everyday”.. one of the greatest achievements in becoming a doctor is hearing this sentence. But hey! You all are also there in our prayers every day! Whatever the religion, whichever faith one may come from, whether rich or poor, whether our concepts, philosophies or traditions match […]

© Dr. Rajas Deshpande The whole city awaited a murder, just like in the book ‘Chronicles of a death foretold’ by Mr. Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It was during my internship. I was posted in the civil hospital casualty along with Dr. Anwar and Dr. Junaid, my batchmates. The postings were phenomenal in that we got […]

© Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Ready?” As I held the knife, Dr. PTJ said: “Hold the knife like a pen, keep the tip on the skin, and with a controlled but firm pressure downwards, swipe its edge down as you feel the skin resistance. Don’t go deep at all. I am here. Start”. Sweating a little, […]

© Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Insecticide Poisoning. Needs intubation. Quick” I shouted and started suction from the frothing mouth of this 27 year old Ayurvedic Practitioner. The casualty servant rushed the primitive version of crash cart that had bare minimum upon it and relied upon the cosmic arrangement of two emergencies at a time, with enough […]

(c) Dr. Rajas Deshpande Time and again, relatives dump the invalid, disabled, psychotic or infectious patients in govt. hospitals, provide false addresses or names, and disappear. By default, the ward staff (mainly nurses, servants / ward boys and resident doctors) look after such patients. We sometimes help by shifting them to wards where there are […]

© Dr. Rajas Deshpande Recently there was a study saying that Doctor’s Aprons may (not definitely) spread infections. This inference is quite established and proven many years ago, and solutions for this have been discussed at length. One must congratulate that this is proven again in India. However, the news headlines “Ban the Doctors from […]

© Dr. Rajas Deshpande Alcohol addiction and heavy drinking for decades. Over 5 packets of Gutkha / tobacco per day for many years. Few accidents due to drunken driving, once head injury after a bike accident, without helmet. Poor diet control. Diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease, obesity. Rich landowner. Came to OPD with a personal […]

(c) Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Is the patient Dying? Operated? Bleeding severely? Dead?” “No” “Then we will not pay his / her medical bills”. The insurance companies (most) have been giving a hard time to both patients and doctors: no patient’s bill is fully paid even if they have a genuine illness. OPD bills and investigations […]

© Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Doc we have come for a second opinion. We think the earlier specialist was wrong.” said the patient’s daughter in law. Complicated case of Parkinsonism. 82 years old. “But the earlier Doctor (a senior bigwig) has in fact written the probable diagnosis here, and started correct line of treatment.” I said. […]

© Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Doc I have severe headache since last three days, with nausea, vomiting, and giddiness”. Young girl of 24. Recent break-up from first love, changed job. Completely normal physical examination. Accompanied with a caring new boyfriend. Both work in same software company. Simple, common problem. A few years ago, just a painkiller […]

© Dr. Rajas Deshpande From primary schools in inaccessible villages to metropolitan Universities, almost all teachers in India suffer poverty, neglect, transfers, non-teaching dumped duties and multiple tasks that the administration forces upon them, immense bullying and insecurity. Living in different hells, these angels still smilingly create heavens for their students. Suffering due to honesty […]

A friend’s wife was once admitted with severe burns, she had caught fire while cooking alone at home. After admitting her at a govt. hospital where I was a student, my devastated friend called me for help. Their whole family was in a wordless shock. The couple had married a year earlier. The doctors had […]

The Last Medicine © Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Do you love someone too much, DucKtoor?” asked this Iraqi student in hesitant words with an awkward face. He was just translating what his countryman had insisted him to ask me. A young lady in late twenties was paralysed below neck, and her husband had risked his life […]

“The Free Fetish” © Dr. Rajas Deshpande “I want to treat all patients free all my life, Sir.” I told my most beloved professor on the day that I passed my MD Medicine exams. Always fair to me, my Prof. did not brush away my words as overexcited blabber of a passing student on the […]