User:Ethanpatterson1/sandbox

Wikipedia Article Assignment

 * Eclampsia
 * I will be adding a citation to this page.

= Link to Project Resource Page = Project Homepage and Resources

Practice Editing Here (Nov 23rd in-class Wiki session work)

 * This is a place to practice clicking the "edit" button and practice adding references (via the citation button).

Change #1

 * I plan to remove reference 39 and the sentence that precedes it in the "Mechanism" section, and will replace it with: "Pre-eclampsia’s pathogenesis is poorly understood, but it likely only involves maternal and placental factors because it is only seen in molar pregnancies absent of fetal tissue, containing only trophoblastic tissue. "
 * Rational for Proposed Change: This edit was made because reference 39, the source for the original statement “The invasion of the trophoblast appears to be incomplete”, was from 1997 and seemed more confusing than helpful with a lack of context surrounding the sentence. The replacement and its source are from 2017, and I believe provide more clear terminology. I will also be linking trophoblast's article just as the previous sentence did, to ensure people can explore what a trophoblast is if they feel so inclined. The only controversy I could see occurring in this edit is the fact that it mentions that pre-eclampsia rather than eclampsia. But, it is already explained more than once in the article that pre-eclampsia is necessary in diagnosing eclampsia (in addition to seizures), so I do not see this as being an issue.

Change #2

 * Following "...leading to reduced blood flow to multiple organs" in the first paragraph of the "Mechanism" section, I plan to add the sentence, "Vascular dysfunction-associated maternal conditions such as Lupus, hypertension, and renal disease, or obstetric conditions that increase placental volume without an increase in placental blood flow (such as twin pregnancy) can increase risk for pre-eclampsia. "
 * Rational for Proposed Change: This information was not a part of the original article and adds some potential causes for pre-eclampsia, which has already been listed in the article as a precursor and necessary condition in the diagnosis of eclampsia. This should not be met with much, if any, controversy, as it is simply adding explanation to the mechanism of disease. It was already explained in the previous sentence that reduced blood flow to the placenta is a key feature of the process, so this adds an explanation as to why we may see this occur in a pregnant woman.

Critique of Source

 * Greenspan's Basic & Clinical Endocrinology (10e) is a very reputable secondary source that is rigorously edited and reviewed. It continues to be updated with new editions, and overall should be considered high-quality.
 * Where one may find issues with this source isn't with the source in particular, but rather with medical textbooks in general. This textbook is from 2017, so while it is still more recent than the recommended maximum of 5 years old, textbooks take a while to edit and review. This means that it is entirely possible the sources the authors of the textbooks use to synthesize their information are older than the textbook itself–they have to be. The textbooks build off of their previous versions, as well, which means that if the publisher does not see a good reason to change the old book's content on a particular subject, the sources used to create it may be older than is ideal. However, this is an issue we have with all textbooks, not just this one in particular. Coupled with rigorous editing and review processes, this should not be considered a flaw so serious that we do not consider this book of high reputability.
 * Lastly, one controversial aspect of medical textbooks is how fast errors can be corrected if they are, in fact, medically incorrect. As Tez and Yildiz point out in their article on the topic, when a medical textbook that is not open-access (just as the one used to edit the eclampsia article is not), these mistakes linger until a new textbook can be created. That is why it is so important to use up-to-date sources, even if the old ones were reputable in their time.

What to post on the Wikipedia article talk page?

 * This will also be covered on Nov 23rd in class. Your group should use the below template to share an outline of your proposed improvements (including your new wording and citations). Article talk pages are not places to share your assignment answers. The Wikipedia community will be more interested in viewing your exact article improvement suggestions including where you plan to improve the article (which section), what wording you suggest, and the exact citation (Note: all citations must meet WP:MEDRS)
 * You will not be able to paste citations directly from your sandbox to talk pages (unless you are interested in editing/learning Wiki-code in the "source editing" mode). We suggest re-adding your citations on the talk page manually (using the cite button and populating the citation by pasting in the DOI, website, or PMID). You will have to repeat this process yet again when you edit the actual article live.
 * Talk Page Template: CARL Medical Editing Initiative/Fall 2020/Talk Page Template