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.
Pager set ...
