I recount what has happened to a patient I have known for over 30 years and her unfortunate experience when assumption were made about her back pain at our local ER. Look, I know that the ER is overwhelmed and many people come in for back pain issues but if they had listened to her history and her pain distribution, it should have raised a level of suspicion that all was not what it seemed to be.

Take a listen to the story. I am beyond frustrated. She died later in the day after our broadcast.

Your Calls and Comments:

• A woman develops a urinary tract infection but the initial antibiotic did not work. After the culture result this was changed. She wanted to know why this was not picked up on the urine dip test. I explain that this initial test can only determine if there is an infection but the culture that is sent to the lab the same day takes at least a day to get the bacterial antibiotic sensitivities.
• Liver enzymes measurements and the effects of alcohol on these levels
• A woman with diabetes notes that it takes longer for her to recover from colds