Intractable cardiac arrest due to lidocaine toxicity successfully resuscitated with lipid emulsion.

Objective: Demonstrate a case report involving successful use of lipid emulsion therapy for intractable cardiac arrest due to lidocaine toxicity.

Data Source: Lipid emulsion therapy has been shown to be effective in treating the cardiotoxic effects of such drugs as bupivacaine, verapamil, propranolol, and clomipramine as mentioned in a 2009 editorial in Critical Care Medicine by Jeffrey Bent. The mechanism of action of lipid emulsion therapy is not well defined and has been postulated to work by both a "lipid sink," decreasing circulating amounts of drugs to the periphery, or through a direct "energy source" to the myocardium.

Disclosure of cancer diagnosis and prognosis in Northern Tanzania.

Whether to tell patients with cancer about their diagnoses and prognoses is a matter of great debate. While many argue the importance of giving this information to facilitate informed decision-making, others argue that this same information can extinguish hope. Although there is some evidence that disclosure of this information is now commonplace in many Northern and Western settings, there are very few data about this issue from resource-poor nations describing physicians' decision-making regarding whether to disclose this information.