The deadly dinner party & other medical detective stories

Jonathan A. Edlow

Some think that the work of a physician is like that of a scientist--based on careful observation leading to a hypothesis that is then tested to determine its veracity. The job of an emergency room physician, however, is more like that of a detective than a scientist. As an ER physician, Edlow (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) does a lot of sleuthing: working back from symptom clues to determine a diagnosis. He exemplifies this methodology in the form of medical mystery thrillers in this new collection of 15 true stories. It reminds readers that many known clinical entities started out as a vague class of symptoms; an example is Lyme disease, which Edlow has also written about (in Bull's-Eye: Unraveling the Medical Mystery of Lyme Disease, CH, Jan'04, 41-2836). The genre of the medical detective story was established through the prolific work of Berton Roueche, to whom Edlow pays...