h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Z, what do you think of my new entry (still in progress) on stroke treatment?

Hang on I'll just have a look at it.

Right..

I've read a good few of your entries but I've always been slightly too intimidated to comment, partly because you're qualified and I'm not..

Erm firstly I was wondering reguarding the Penny Mellor issue, if you haven't recived any communication from the powers that be, then it is very unusual. May I suggest that you check that your e mail address in preferences is correct. If it is correct, (or you've changed it to the correct one) may I suggest you drop Jim a line his user page is.. U292

I've had dealings with him a few times and he's always been very fair and reasonable. He is a little overworked, especially at this time of year.

I don't find the edited guide cliquly in the slightest, I actually found it very easy to get into, my first attempt was accepted.. But it is an attempt at creating an online encyclopedia, and entries do have to be in aimed at a certain audience, the educated lay audience, and be balanced in the usual BBC way.

Some people find writing for a non expert audience quite difficult.

Anyway... getting back to the issue, I've read the stroke entry. It's a really interesting topic, but it doesn't really seem to be written for the right audience. I have no problem understand it of course, but words like pathophysiology are only going to put off readers. An EG article on the treatment of stroke is going to be read by people who have personal experience of a stroke in a friend or relative and are looking for more information, they may well have already recieved and been confused by medical information, and are looking for something which explains it rather than more medical information.

But the educatedish layperson I think would find it a little too full of medical words. People might not know what, for example intracelluar ions are, or they may only be able to work it out from the words but not really know what they mean.

Another issue I have with it, is that it doesn't seem to match what i am being taught reguarding stroke treatment. Many people feel that it is an ethical issue if you give a treatment which reduces the disability rate but increases the death rate..

I also think it would benifit from more written about the rehabilitation side of stroke medicine, and the importance of risk factor modification.

fair comments

its easy to forget what the average person will know- I've explained some of the terms but intracellular ions - yep

my problem is I don't like to oversimplify at the expense of accuracy

I'll modify appropriately

sorry, when you say my entry doesn't tally with what you've been taught?

(its just this is mostly off the top of my head and as a med student you will probably be more up to date)

what did you get taught re treatment?

Well what I've been taught is that in the two weeks after a stroke the blood vessels in the brain are "leaky" and due to the oedema, the patient is a high risk of a bleed in the area of the thrombotic stroke.

The patients I've seen at two separate stroke units, aren't started on prophylaytic anticoaglulation, or anti platlet drugs if indicated.

I found it very easy to write entries that went into the right level on detail in my third year, but now I'm in my fourth I have to stop myself using jargon as a matter of course..

Still I do find that writing them, and answering people questions online (not of course giving the medical advice) does make it easier for me to explain things to patients..

I find a few days after they've been admitted they tend to be trying to get their head around exactly what happened, and friendly medical students are useful for answering questions.. We can't give advice about their condition but we can answer questions such as "If it's my heart that's failing why do I feel breathless?"

I have worded that unclearly because that is for prevention - of course you are right post-stroke. I'll rewrite that to make it clearer