The lead editorial in the December 23 British Medical Journal is appropriately entitled, "A pile of strangeness." The collection of articles, worthy of a stateside April Fool's issue, explores such compelling topics as physicians as serial killers, how to make an ophthalmoscope, whether animals bite more during a full moon, clues to alleviating back pain by studying the sleeping positions of apes, the history of constipation, and how not to give a presentation.
Buried within the strangeness--and easy to miss because it appears to be yet another clinical trial report comparing thrombolytic agents--is a critical analysis of the efficacy of these costly drugs in removing bloodstains from laundry.1 "The idea for the article came when I was completing a term in the emergency department, which involved both dispensing thrombolytics and receiving bloodstains," shares Chet Pager, principal investigator and resident medical officer at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney....
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