Medical webwatch.

The "Fast Facts Index" from the End of Life/Palliative Education Resource Centre (EPERC), Medical College of Wisconsin (http://www.eperc.mcw.edu/ff_index.htm) is intended for educators and clinicians, and has 130 peer-reviewed, one-page outlines of important end-of-life clinical topics. EPERC has "been designed for use by medical school course/clerkship directors, residency and continuing education program directors." Major categories in end-of-life/palliative education include: pain, nonpain symptoms, communications skills, ethics, terminal care, and clinical interventions used near the end-of-life.

Ethics Manual (http://www.acponline.org/ethics/manual.htm) from the American College of Physicians has chapters on "The Physician and the Patient, Care of Patients Near the End of Life," "Ethics of Practice," "The Physician and Society," and "Research." The introduction says that "Medicine, law, and social values are not static. Re-examining the ethical tenets of medical practice and their application in new circumstances is a necessary exercise." And "The fourth edition of the American College of Physicians Ethics Manual covers emerging issues in medical ethics and revisits old ones. It reflects on many of the ethical tensions faced by internists and their patients and attempts to shed light on how existing principles extend to emerging concerns." The manual also refers to aspects of genetic testing.

Two useful facilities can be accessed from GP-training (http://www.gp-training.net/doctors/index.htm). First click on "Protocols" and then "Clinical Protocols" to list succinct clinical protocols by specialty. The second facility from the menu on the entry page is "GP Training," which in the "Main Area" offers "Training Tutorials" divided into "The Consultation," "Professional Development," and "Clinical Topics." These are all comprehensive, pertinent, and practical tutorials on general practice.

EdRen Handbook (http://renux.dmed.ed.ac.uk/EdREN/index.html) is from the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh Renal Unit. Click "Handbook" for 38 general renal topics. The information provided is generally brief and limited to what is required for immediate management. Below this listing there is a section dealing with "Transplant Protocols." This is in 6 parts, "Pretransplant Management," "Operation," "Post-operative Management," "Immunosuppressive Drugs," "Infection and Infection Prophylaxis," and "Drugs and Prescribing." Finally, via the "Renal Unit" tab on the home page, you will discover an interesting history of transplantation in Edinburgh.

Treatment of Hospital Infections (http://www.bsac.org.uk/pyxis/) from British Society for Antimicrobial Therapy is designed to "assist in the rational choice of antimicrobial chemotherapy for infections treated in hospitals." The site can be navigated via menu tabs for "Infection," "Department," "Septic Patient," "Prescribing," and "Immunocompromised," or via the A to Z Index. The "Infection" tab opens a list of body systems with submenus for each infectious disease. These infections are considered under "Etiology," "Diagnosis," and "Management." The "Prescribing" tab offers pages that cover selecting the correct antibiotic, treatment strategy, and pharmacokinetics.

Yale University's Atlas of Echo Cardiology (http://info.med.yale.edu/intmed/cardio/echo_atlas/contents/)

Each item selected from the listing under the "Contents" tab will open a small submenu of QuickTime videos illustrating echocardiographs. These are accompanied by cartoon animations to aid with the interpretation of the echocardiograph and are also augmented by anatomical illustrations that sit alongside the submenu.

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