Minerva

Some advice for fishermen (and women) who suffer the agony of getting fishhooks stuck in fingers and arms (Trout Fisherman August 2003: 32). Rather than pushing the hook through, cutting the barb off, and pulling the shank out, you are advised to let someone else pass a string around the hook; while holding both ends in their hand, they should press down on the hook to release the barb, then pull on the string ends to remove the hook. Removal from other body parts should be referred to hospital.

Minerva enjoyed reading about thyroid nodules, and what they're all about, in a commentary entitled “Thyroid incidentaloma: the ignorant in pursuit of the impalpable.” Should they be systematically biopsied and removed, or can some just be left alone? Ultrasound has brought the issue of occult thyroid carcinoma into the clinical domain of the incidental finding. All this is reminiscent, of course, of the prostate and the cervix, and what informed consent to investigate actually means (Clinical Endocrinology 2004;60: 18-20).

Neonatal jaundice, caused by an accumulation of bilirubin, is usually treated with phototherapy, but drug …