Each week, we identify one top search term, speculate as to what caused its popularity, and provide an infographic on a related condition. If you have thoughts about what's trending and why, feel free to share them with us on Twitter or Facebook!
Clinical Trend of the Week (February 20-26): Sclerosing Encapsulating Peritonitis
Once more, the death of a celebrity has prompted searches for an unusual condition. Denise Matthews, better known to fans as Vanity, died from complications of longstanding problems with her kidneys. Prior to her death, the former protegee of the musician Prince disclosed that she was diagnosed with sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis. Also called “abdominal cocoon syndrome” or simply sclerosing peritonitis, the condition is characterized by the encasement of the small bowel by a thick rind of adhesions and fibrous tissue, which causes clustering of the bowel. Although not believed to be the cause of her death, the media coverage surrounding her passing certainly drove searches for this rare condition.
For more in-depth clinical information, see Peritonitis and Abdominal Sepsis.
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Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.
Cite this: Ryan Syrek. Clinical Trends for February 2016 - Medscape - Feb 05, 2016.
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