Global Update

Indian Pediatrics 2002; 39:800-801

Pedscapes

Isabel - www.isabel.org.uk. This website was launched by the Isabel charities of UK in June 2002. Isabel is a comprehensive online pediatric diagnostic and clinical decision making package. This service is provided free and requires a registration. The diagnostic tool requires the entry of the child’s symptoms and signs and also the age. A differential diagnosis and suggestions for further management are offered. The website also contains well illustrated APLS guidelines for over twenty pediatric emergencies. A good collection of clinical algorithms for diagnostic and treatment of pediatric disorders is also available. "Experience" is an interesting feature where interesting clinical situations are described along with key messages. An image library containing X-ray’s, clinical photographs, ECG’s along with tutorials is another feature of this site. Users can participate in discussion forum that are arranged according to sub-specialty. A comprehensive guide to the MRCPCH exam is also available from this site. Conference abstracts and links to other pediatric websites are also available. Contributions to the image library and other features can be sent by email. The features of Isabel make it an essential clinical decision support and information system for Pediatricians. A CD version of this comprehensive pediatric software, though not available, is a necessity in places with no access to internet.

Online Medical Diagnosis - www.ccspublishing.com/mddx_index.htm

Online Medical Diagnosis, developed by CCS Publishing, is an online clinical diagnostic program. Users can chose form a list of primary symptoms that lead on to other symptom associations and finally leads on the differential diagnosis and further diagnostic and treatment options.

Topic Medical Literature Searches - www.bham.ac.uk/arif/enqscomp.htm This website has been hosted by the "Aggressive Research Intelligence Facility" or ARIF from the University of Birmingham. The website makes available latest evidence based summaries on clinical controversies. The topics are arranged alphabetically for easy search.

Medcalc3000 - http://medcalc3000.com. The Medcalc3000 is one of the well known medical calculator sites on the internet. With the increasing use of computers in patient data management in hospitals, medical calculators help in working out clinical and prognostic scores and also in drug and infusion dosages. Medcalc3000 contains a extensive collection of medical equations, clinical criteria(scoring systems) and decision making tools, including many pediatric and neonatal applications. For those having pocket PC’s, an abridged version is also available.

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