Useful Mnemonics for History Taking
Dr. Jeffrey Kalei
Author and illustrator for Hyperexcision. Interested in emergency room medicine. I have a passion for medical education and drawing.
Viral Hepatitis
Viral hepatitis is a viral infection of the liver. It is most commonly caused by the hepatitis virus, but other viruses e.g. CMV, EBV and Yellow Fever can cause hepatitis. There are 5 types of hepatitis virus: Hepatitis A Virus…
Ludwig’s Angina and Cervicofacial Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infection
Ludwig’s Angina Ludwig’s angina is a bilateral cellulitis involving the submandibular, submental, or sublingual spaces. It presents as edema and cellulitis with an intact skin. It is named after Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Von Ludwig who was the first to describe…
Hypothermia and Shivering
Hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a core body temperature less than 36 degrees Celsius. Core body temperature can be measured in the nasopharynx, distal eosophagus, tympanic membrane and pulmonary artery. Skin is generally much cooler than core temperature. Mechanisms to…
Post-operative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV)
Overview Post-operative Nausea and Vomiting is the leading cause of delayed discharge from PACU. Current recommendations is at least 2 prophylactic drugs for patients with at least 1 risk factor for PONV. Combinations should be with drugs that have different…
Intra-op Hypotension and Hypertension
Overview Blood pressure represents the force exerted by the circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels. It is determined by cardiac output (CO) and systemic vascular resistance (SVR). (MAP – SVR) = HR X SVR CO = HR X…
Massive Transfusion and Transfusion Reactions
Massive Transfusion Massive transfusion is defined as the administration of greater than 1 total blood volume (10 – 20 units of blood) in 24 hours or replacing 1/2 of the blood volume in < 1 hour *(*about 5 – 10…
Transfusion Therapy
Pre-Transfusion Testing Group and Screen (Type and Screen) Antigens that are not present in screened cells are unlikely to cause significant hemolytic reactions (0.2% risk of transfusion reaction if only type and screen is done). They can be safely transfused…
IV Fluids and Resuscitation
Overview Definition of terms Term Definition Osmosis Spontaneous movement of water across a semi-permeable membrane from a region of low solute concentration to one of high solute concentration which tends to equalize the solute concentration on either side of the…
Shock
Overview Shock is defined as a state of global cellular and tissue hypoxia due to either reduced oxygen delivery, increased oxygen consumption, inadequate oxygen utilization, or a combination of these processes. Shock is almost always caused by low blood pressure…