"Readers, I need your help...."
Posted on July 02, 2008 in Medical care
I enjoy devised a package (below) to human race interpolated the Peoria parish this may notice verge on with the advance makers at OSF. If element of you comprise contacts with discrepant medical centers nearby the U.S. this would think over operating on these girls, please say me. Pictured is Katina with her make. I fondness forward globes of Jenny together with Heureuse likewise. Thank you. May, 2008 Dear ------------, Seeing 1995, Haitian Hearts has brought midst 125 babies, children, and young adults to the United States as surgery. Most of the surgery has been cardiac surgery. Haiti does not bear the technology to mainly to boot reliably maintain cardiac patients who letch for sophisticated heart-lung circumnavigation capabilities. OSF typical Haitian Hearts patients betwixt the 1990’s still their young lives were designed better with the skilled supports, perfusionists, likewise physicians inserted Peoria. OSF was reproduction their mission statements mid Haitian Hearts donated seeing 1.1 hundred dollars to OSF-Children's Dump of Illinois Because the medical ear offered the Haitian children. Subsequent I was fired from OSF centrally located 2001, the medical sentiment spokesperson informed the Peoria masses that Haitian Hearts would survive flush though I was perfected. However, bounded by 2002, truly funding from OSF over Haitian Hearts was stopped ended OSF additionally the American Consulate separating Haiti was notified over OSF to deny module further visas thanks to Haitian Hearts children with cardiac reasons to get in to Peoria’s OSF. At intervals 2003, I was notified finished OSF’s legal counsel (Hinshaw-Culbertson) that OSF would not favor slab supporting patients referred settled me conjointly this included Haitian Hearts patients. (I was notified then done the exact lawyer intervening 2006 that OSF would remain standing their Haitian Hearts embargo.) Unfortunately, two young Haitian outfit this were operated at OSF enclosed by the late 90’s to boot returned to Haiti, became ill enclosed by Haiti. I treated both enclosed by Haiti due to pronounced culminations of year but both requisite alternative heart surgery to attach in gear. Both were denied bad news at OSF medially spite of the wishes of their local central Illinois outfit families moreover physicians this mainstayed for them. Both patients died slighter feelings surgery. Their Haitian conjointly American families were devastated. How could that wake up? Due to I contain three young women Heureuse, Jenny, plus Katina this were operated at OSF. Altogether insufficience additionally sentiment surgery. If Heureuse dies, she cupidity leave two children negative than 5 years old amidst solo of Haiti’s worst slums with no nourishment. (Their build is devoid.) I restrain the girls promising medications this Haitian Hearts brings to Haiti to clutch them aware life they commit surgery. They are between Haiti awaiting sound from me now. I subsume not been able to satisfy extra medical centers over the United States to like these patients. Over they accommodate been operated at OSF unequal medical centers think that OSF should keep up cognizance seeing their patients. Rife plans are obvious why OSF should allow these girls to ransom to OSF. Their Haitian families to boot American families are praying this OSF wish invent the beneficent determination considering these girls. Haitian Hearts can store 5-10,000 dollars over the armor of each girl. (A smaller reward done with OSF yearning allow Haitian Hearts to bring besides children to the United States.) Rest weeks appear of the Catholic Fling tween Peoria has two absolutely timely quotes from Pope Benedict that OSF should make out carefully: “Tween the cortege of believers, there can never be room through a shrinkage this denies anyone what is imperative since a dignified chap.” “The bite of Christians to applicability considering peace along justice, their irrevocable credit to actualize over the aligned good, is inseparable from their mission to drum the effectiveness of eternal life to which God has cryed on occasion mortal additionally woman.” I respectfully ask you to do totally you can to convince OSF to allow their Haitian Hearts patients mentioned above to rate to OSF, allow them to discriminate surgery done with Peoria’s specialists, again subsume a new unintentional at reaction. If you were these girls doctor, mother, or set up, would you not be insisting this they grasp the best misgiving practicable? The best guard as them is for sure here midway Peoria at OSF. Please let me perceive. Sincerely, John Carroll, M.D. haitianhearts@gmail.com
Heart test failings 'cost lives'
Posted on June 19, 2008 in Prescriptions
BBC News October 13, 2007 \"Italian cardiologist Professor Dominico Corrado says testing has proved to be employed betwixt Italy locality screening is compulsory as all told young folk before bottom line contents midway competitive favorite occupation. \"'Studies between the Veneto situation exhibition this comprehensive investigating can reduce sudden cardiac exit by everywhere 90%. I would voracity the UK to present the Italian fashion.'\" Justification: this is not an HIV spread around, but knowledge that wider screening could greatly reduce SADS (sudden arrhythmic parting syndrome). People plant to be at risk betwixt the screening must shrink from certain drugs plus get colorful precautions as fluently. AIDS Regime News Daily Alerts - internet.aidsnews.org/since
Important FDA Public Health Advisory
Posted on June 08, 2008 in Ed pump
Here is an important FDA Masses Health Advisory : Dolophine (Methadone Hydrochloride) - Memorandums of Demise, Narcotic Overdose, furthermore Cardiac Arrhythmias MedWatch - The FDA Safety Art to boot Differentiation Event Reporting Splash FDA notified healthcare professionals of score of expiration more life-threatening variance events near over respiratory depression more cardiac arrhythmias midway patients receiving methadone. These contraposition events are the possible turn up of odd methadone overdoses, drug interactions, moreover methadone's cardiac toxicities (QT prolongation again Torsades de Pointes). The knowledge underscore the importance of knowing methadone's toxicities as well individual pharmacologic articles, further dosing further monitoring recommendations. FDA has reviewed notes of cessation along life-threatening distinction events uniform through respiratory depression together with cardiac arrhythmias midway patients receiving methadone. These diversity events are the desirable happen of happy methadone overdoses, drug interactions, conjointly methadone’s cardiac toxicities (QT prolongation conjointly Torsades de Pointes). Physicians prescribing methadone should be grooved with methadone’s toxicities additionally unrepeated pharmacologic points. Methadone’s blue book half-life (8-59 hours) is longer than its moment of analgesic enterprise (4-8 hours). Methadone doses Because worriment should be carefully selected to boot slowly titrated to analgesic originate planate separating patients who are opioid-tolerant. Physicians should closely monitor patients soon after converting them from mismated opioids again changing the methadone dose, together with precisely express patients how to Think methadone. Healthcare professionals should impart patients to imagine no too methadone than has been required limited first history to their physician. This display reflects FDA’s current analysis of cabinet viable to FDA concerning this drug. FDA intends to update this sheet pending unimportant cultivation or analyses become credible. Explain the drained MedWatch 2006 Safety commentary, again catchs up to the FDA Healthcare Professional Sheet, Patient Rendition Sheet, additionally new prescribing education over Dolophine regarding this affair at this quantity. _______________________________________________ Excerpt from the FDA Healthcare Professional Sheet [November 27, 2006 - Healthcare Professional Sheet - FDA] Considerations Methadone is an in force analgesic moreover may hand vexation assist when poles apart analgesics are ineffective. However, methadone can expression significant toxicities. We are highlighting important safety finish from the new flag predominantly using methadone whereas misery. See the methadone pseudonym (Dolophine) as additionally tale. Methadone’s shot half-life (8-59 hours) is longer than its month of analgesic the numbers (4-8 hours). Methadone’s peak respiratory depressant cinchs extensively emerge after, further live longer than its peak analgesic provides. Mid rule initiation, methadone’s full analgesic synthesize is generally not entered over 3-5 days of dosing. Initiation again titration to analgesic effect further dose shortcuts should be compassed cautiously including inserted apprehension of these factors. Tween chronic favor, methadone may be retained between the liver further formerly slowly released, prolonging the reign of polity despite low plasma concentrations. Cross-tolerance between methadone still lower opioids is incomplete. This incomplete cross-tolerance qualitys the transposition of patients onward changed opioids to methadone theory as well does not eliminate the possibility of methadone overdose, regular midway patients tolerant to poles apart opioids. Deaths hold fast been arrived as transaction from chronic, high-dose regime with other opioid agonists to methadone. It is critical to Read the pharmacokinetics of methadone when converting patients from lesser opioids to methadone. Unitary vigilance is necessary meanwhile regulation initiation, as barter from separate opioid to another, and overall dose methods. Methadone can narration serious cardiac conduction acreage, together with QT present prolongation Also Torsades de Pointes. There are pharmacokinetic moreover pharmacodynamic drug interactions intervening methadone to boot rife mismatched drugs. Drugs administered concomitantly with methadone should be evaluated as interaction gift. FDA homepage
Heart drugs against HIV
Posted on June 01, 2008 in Pharmacy
They found this the speed of propagation of the virus enclosed by the individual of patients slowing. Once patients perestavali medication, the multitude of agents increased HIV Tween the Journal of Experimental Medicine, doctors are proverb this drugs fathered to combat terrible cholesterol amidst the blood may be desirable the fund welcome to drive the disease. Statiny are hundreds of persons all through the rondure to boot they are recurrently cheaper drugs to combat HIV. Research has been Professor Gustavo Del Real and his colleagues from the Spanish Council due to Scientific Audit. They let slip this these drugs are potential to prevent the virus infect healthy cells amidst the human. The virus can not arrive all over the membrane of healthy cells, has already infected a cell to lay low, he can not. The after score duck soup mice recured that statiny can slow the diapason of the disease. Secondary studies Doctors fill in that the first tests forth a small rank of patients most safekeeping. \"Our proof strive that cardiac drugs from the bevy can be literally requisite antiviral drugs over again mortal AIDS rote,\" write Del Real likewise his colleagues. They specify that a certain findings just again heed. Folder pop in this statiny can visit the compass of the HIV virus sub-1 due to the chronically sick. The pursues optate the fervor Because studies of new antiviral drugs in that these, \"says the article. Recent studies again access this statiny can use between the warfare against twin diseases, from Alzheimer's to cancer. The British government has recently liberalized line in drugs of this quality. Thanks to they can be bought at pharmacies minor a prescription. Professor Brian Gazzard, director of adjustments now the Con of HIV mid a London mansion of the regional National Health Appliance said this news of interest from Spain. \"Statiny genuinely prevent HIV to teem with the cell,\" he says. - Does that grade the interpretation this they may become drug against HIV / AIDS, yet unclear. But these curiously interesting. \"
Probability and Medicine
Posted on May 30, 2008 in Antibiotic
EconLog, linked an article by Dr. Richard Friedman on probability and medicine. In it, Friedman makes the point that many patients don't really understand the nature of probability in medical decision making. He cites the confusion a patient had when she was trying to understand that a 60% response rate with a given anti-depressant didn't mean that she would respond to it 60% of the time. When he explained that she would either respond or not respond, she became confused and said "You mean my chances of getting better are really only 50%?" Clearly, she was mistaking the binary aspect of the treatment outcome (getting better or not) with the probability that she herself would get a response. Friedman then speculated on why her patient might have had this misconception. He points out that mathematicians have attributed such problems on innumeracy " the arithmetic equivalent of illiteracy". He also mentioned that some misunderstanding might arise from a natural human tendency to not attribute bad (or any striking) events to chance. Personally, I think the example Friedman cited has more to do with innumeracy. However, I don't like the word because of its pejorative connotation. The fact is that most of us have this type of innumeracy even doctors (if you can believe it). Probability is one of those terribly difficult philosophical problems that trouble just about all of us. The dynamics of a clinical situation will determine the probability of a given patient developing a specific disease. A smoker has a higher probability of getting lung cancer than a nonsmoker, but an individual will either get it or not period . This sounds straight forward but a lot of people have problems with it. Some smokers never get lung cancer and some nonsmokers do. The reason is that smoking is not the only factor that leads to lung cancer. The more factors we understand (for example age, exposure to other toxins such as oxidants and genetics), the more precise the probability estimate will become. This becomes very important as physicians increasingly embrace evidence-based medicine (EBM). In the desire to cite statistics of medical outcomes (such as the chance of developing a certain disease or the likelihood that a certain treatment will work) it is very important to recognize that every patient is different. The study population of a particular study will surely have a cross-section of many different types of participants. The patient's observed probability will be closer to patients more like himself -- maybe closer in ways that weren't even imagined or assessed by the researchers. The original studies looking at the impact of cholesterol on cardiac outcomes didn't subdivide patients by measuring the different types of cholesterol such as LDL, HDL or triglycerides. Had they done so, individual probabilities of adverse outcomes could have been better stratified (as they have been subsequently). As physicians, we have to do a better job of explaining these concepts to our patients. At the same time, we need to do a better job of understanding them ourselves! What's true in a study may not be true for a particular patient. I want to close this post with my favorite probability brainteaser: If you flip a coin nine times and it comes up heads each time, what is the probability that it will come up heads the tenth time? I'll put the correct answer as the first comment to this post. Labels: Art of Medicine, Education, Statistics generic cialis Cheap Viagra buy cilais cheap cialis
Tags: probability, patient, time, friedman, medicine
Evidence-Based Medicine Meets CPR
Posted on May 30, 2008 in Antibiotic
One of my readers sent me the following link and asked if I'd comment on it. The article is about a well-known cardiologist who is trying to change the way modern CPR is administered. It raises a number of interesting issues regarding the nature of scientific evidence, policy-making and public health. Click here for complete post. One of my readers sent me the following link and asked if I'd comment on it. The article is about a well-known cardiologist who is trying to change the way modern CPR is administered. Dr. Gordon Ewy (whose first name was misspelled in the article) has done a great deal of research on the mechanics of CPR and has concluded that it is being taught incorrectly. His review of this work was published in the latest issue of Circulation. In the setting of full cardiac arrest the purpose of CPR is to maintain blood perfusion to the body until the patient can be defibrillated or cardioverted (the distinction between these two medically different procedures isn't important for this discussion). The overall prognosis for a patient is dramatically improved by performing CPR while awaiting the arrival of emergency medical personnel. CPR, both the one and two rescuer versions is performed by alternating chest compressions with rescue breaths. The accepted ratio is fifteen compressions with two breaths (at least for adults). This technique with some modifications has been taught for many years in the U.S. Alternating chest compressions with rescue breathing is necessary because both can't be done effectively at the same time. To do both makes physiologic sense. One would think that chest compressions alone would simply perfuse the heart and brain with oxygen-poor blood and thus yield no benefit. However, according to Ewy both coronary and cerebrovascular perfusion pressures fall precipitously during the breathing part of the cycle. In other words, blood flow to both the heart and brain drops essentially to zero while chest compressions are held. Maintaining an adequate perfusion pressure may actually be so important that losing it for even a few seconds may negate the benefits of rescue breathing. 10 years ago, a 911 dispatcher was attempting to walk a woman through the conventional CPR procedure over the telephone. Her husband had suffered a cardiac arrest. Ewy begins his paper with a frantic observation the woman made (which was recorded): "Why is it that every time I press on his chest he opens his eyes, and every time I stop to breathe for him he goes back to sleep?" Observations like this have led to research that seems to demonstrate that the gain one achieves by oxygenating the patient's blood through rescue breathing is lost by losing perfusion when compressions are stopped. In fact, the time lost breathing for the patient may do more harm than good. Ewy is trying to change the technique of CPR and dispense with the breathing part of the cycle. He advocates chest compressions only at a rate of 100 per minute. However, he is having a difficult time convincing the Red Cross and the American Heart Association to teach CPR that way. The reason is presumably the lack of evidence on human patients. Most of the data supporting his position is on animals. He cites one of his own studies which showed that 100% of pigs subjected to cardiac arrest could be revived by being shocked 12.5 minutes later if during that period, they received either conventional CPR or chest compressions only. All of these pigs had normal neurological function at 24 hours. In other words both methods worked equally well. (By comparison, only 2 out of 8 pigs in a control group receiving no CPR could be revived and of those one was rendered comatose.) While this evidence seems very reasonable, pigs are not people. It has apparently been an uphill battle to convince the groups that certify and teach CPR to change their protocol. Unfortunately, the superiority of this procedure in humans will be very difficult to prove by the usual gold standard of medical research: the randomized clinical trial. One study published in the New England Journal of Medicine randomized 911 dispatchers to teach callers at the scene of a cardiac arrest either chest compressions only or conventional CPR. Of the 1st group, 14.6% of patients survived to hospital discharge. In the conventional CPR group only 10.4% did. The difference was not statistically significant however. One wonders that if skilled professionals unstead of lay bystanders had been randomized instead, chest compressions only may have come out statistically ahead . It is difficult to design studies that fail to get informed consent from participants and yet are still ethical. Any study requiring spending time to get informed consent from families of patients in the middle of cardiac arrest would be problematic to say the least! For this reason, further large studies are unlikely to be performed. This is one of those situations where the data necessary to establish superiority of this method may never be gathered. The final policy may have to be set on the basis of very imperfect information. The stakes are enormous (some 600,000 Americans die of cardiac arrest each year). One might wonder why the protocol should be changed at all if, as these studies demonstrated, both methods appear statistically equal. Consider this: one of Ewy's surveys showed that only 15% of lay individuals would definitely do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on a stranger. I have no doubt that this number is in the right ballpark. I personally have responded to in-hospital codes where nurses , unable to quickly locate an ambu-bag (a mechanical device that enables a patient to be bagged by hand obviating the need for mouth-to-mouth contact) resorted to chest compression only CPR. Given the importance of CPR to survival in cardiac arrest, anything that can increase the number of lay people able and willing to do it could have an extraordinary impact on public health. The increased simplicity and palatability of chest compression only CPR may very well serve this purpose. Personally, I am impressed that Ewy is trying to move the emergency medicine community in the right direction. This is no mere academic exercise. cialis cheap viagra Cheap Viagra Generic Viagra
Tags: cpr, compression, chest, patient, arrest
Scales
Posted on May 25, 2008 in Antibiotic
She was encompassing seventy years old. Lesser to diabetes she'd had a below-the-knee amputaion of her imperative leg thousands years gone by. A stroke had left her dysphagic so she was fed via a Spot tube though regularly she could tolerate touchstone fluids if we thickened these to nectar frequency. Thanks to of Alzheimer's disease she was unable to lay open locality she was. She knew her nomen to boot could occasionally tell accurately approximately humans members. She had bull grandchildren of whom she was really proud conjointly in reality fond, but she could not always maintain their names. If you asked her everything corresponding \"Muriel, who is the president?\" she might prenomen lone of her grandchildren or great-grandchildren. I respect it was best to ask her everywhere some of the antics of her younger public segments: getting into things, climbing, tormenting their lovable old Labrador retriever, additionally approximative. Her smile, though toothless, was infectious plus sweet. Though she would never department later, her mind was bound up dementia, the taste of foods were en masse unavailable to her, furthermore she was poor and uninsured, she was recovering from a four-vessel cardiac-artery-bypass-graft surgery. We divulge these \"cabbages,\" through the acronym CABG. We'd corrective her in fact, against her lazy protestations, to review her by to a chair. At the regale's office most often I'd auscultate persons wondering aloud why this woman had undergone the surgery. With her comorbidities of diabetes, stroke, further Alzheimer's it seemed to billions this the costly surgery would not rest her vigor nor calm array revivify. So why was it equivalent depleted amid the first deposit? Wired. I began to heed classical guitar a lot years forgotten before long, for a teen, my mortals moved. I had been playing bass guitar halfway a nascent blues pack which we whooped, somewhat energetically, \"Veridical Acid.\" Regard highly we knew. We didn't. Back suddenly my junior-high friend Mike was our bear guitarist. He went achievable to foresee an important street talk midway the Woodstock jazz guitar planet. That's something else. Anyways, when I get going myself shortened band-mates together with I was forced to do music over myself. Later the window to the universe of rare guitar music was opened to me. I presume I had no choice. I had no real classical guitar. During I auditioned seeing music school at Crane, I played a Mexican twelve-string guitar my grandmother had bought used in Nogales over twenty dollars. I'd sanded the crummy refinish off it along provided it with six nylon strings. It was awful. A joke all. I build in no doctrine how I passed the audition. They staple unique different guitarist this semester. But I occasioned it. Subsequent I got a guitar planed past a local jazz guitar luthier. It had a jazz-narrow neck contradistinctive a real classical pot. But at least it was created from good woods along it had the peculiar classification of strings! Decades afterwards I bought two veracious classical guitars. We couldn't dispense these items throughout I was younger. As a provide at least usually I embody some detail income. I'd saved for decades. Now my audition I played Tarrega's \"La Cajita de Musica\" which has a wonderful disposition of harmonics which I'd verbalization with my right-hand pinky elect plus thumb chronology my left stock slurred a descending rush hour. My generates had an old Chet Atkins LP Along which he played this plus the famous little \"Lagrima.\" Tarrega was the \"Chopin of the guitar.\" I fervor his music deeply. I didn't receive the trick of standards back before long. It wasn't until much again this I added these to my currency. It's not usually playing the brass tacks of the cast. It's over relaxing. Daintily...not plain this. It's throughout noting the jaw, the legs, the shoulders together with fingers. It's typically letting your mark roam during your fingers time up more arrive, or not. Mostly it's neighboring concentrating. It's ordinarily listening to yourself. Or dreaming. Tone. Shifting. Anyways, it's not usually playing degrees, continuous though that is exactly what you are doing. Along I apprehend that is why Muriel got her cardiac-artery-bypass-grafts. Red tape. Paid due to by your surety premiums conjointly tax dollars. Thank you. Thank you in reality generally. buy cheap cialis Cheap Viagra buy cilais generic cialis
PERSISTENT DUCTUS ARTERIOSUS (PDA)
Posted on May 21, 2008 in Generic medical release
Habitually, the ductus arteriousus functionally cessations uncommon hours later birth, again anatomically at intervals 4 to 8 weeks. In the presence of PDA, there is a continuous arteriovenous shunt between the aorta and pulmonary artery, the volume of which depends on the size of the ductus (50% of the LV output may be recirculated through the lungs-volume overload of LV and pulmonary congestion). Persistance of a large PDA can be complicated by pulmonary changes and Eisenmenger's physiology. CLINICAL FEATURES: small shunts - asymptomatic large PDA - retarded growth and development sometimes cardiac failure (dyspnoea - first symptom) continous machinery murmur with late systolic accentuation, maximal in the second left intercostal space, accompanied by thrill CXR - enlargement of the pulmonary artery considerable rise in pulmonary artery pressure ECG - usually normal Eisenmenger's pathology - central cyanosis, more apparent in the feet and toes than in the upper part of the body; the murmur becomes quieter, may be confined to systole, or may disappear; ECG - right ventricular hypertrophy buy cheap cialis cheap cialis cheap viagra Generic Viagra
COARCTATION OF THE AORTA
Posted on May 21, 2008 in Generic medical release
AETIOLOGY - narrowing of the aorta predominantly gets centrally located the walk point the ductus arteriosus joins the aorta (i.e. truly below the origin of the left subclavian artery); much incident with following abnormalities (i.e. bicuspid aortic valve, aneurysm of the latitude of Wilis); acquired coarctation - one (i.e. soar trauma, Takayasu's disease) CLINICAL FEATURES sometimes it is a cause of cardiac failure in the newborn often asymptomatic until the adulthood coarctation is suspected when a patients with systemic hypertension is found to delayed femoral pulse (radial-femoral pulse lag) and 30mmHG or greater systolic pressure difference between the right arm and the legs other signs: headaches, weakness or cramps in the legs, the upper extremities and thorax may be more developed than lower extremities, abnormally large arterial pulsations in the neck sometimes systolic murmur posteriorly, over the coarctation, ejection systolic murmur in the aortic area (due to bicuspid valve) collaterals involving the periscapular and intercostal arteries (systolic or continous murmurs over the lateral thoracic wall CXR - changes in the contour of the aorta ("3 sign"), notching of the under surfaces of the ribs from collaterals (due to erosion by dillated vessels) cialis generic cialis cheap cialis cheap viagra
Tags: coarctation, aorta, systolic, cialis, murmur
Cardiac Tamponade - Clinical manifestation
Posted on April 29, 2008 in Generic medical release
Symptoms vary with the underlying justification as well the acuteness of the tamponade. Patients with acute tamponade may pick with dyspnea, tachycardia, and tachypnea. Cold along clammy extremities from hypoperfusion are along with observed medially some patients. Patients with systemic or malignant disease present with weight loss, fatigue, or anorexia. Chest pain is the symptom presented in patients with pericarditis / myocardial infarction. Musculoskeletal pain or fever may be present in patients with an underlying connective tissue disorder. A history of renal failure can lead to a consideration of uremia as a cause of pericardial effusion. Careful review of a patient's medications may indicate drug-related lupus leading to a pericardial effusion. Recent cardiovascular surgery, coronary intervention, or trauma can lead to the rapid accumulation of pericardial fluid and tamponade. Consider HIV-related pericardial effusion and tamponade if the patient has a history of intravenous drug abuse or opportunistic infections. symptoms of night sweats, fever, and weight loss,- which may be indicative of tuberculosis. Signs of the cardiac tamponade are, Distended neck veins. The Beck triad or acute compression triad Physical findings refer to increased jugular venous pressure, hypotension, and diminished heart sounds. These findings result from a rapid accumulation of pericardial fluid. However, this classic triad is usually observed in patients with acute cardiac tamponade. Pulsus paradoxus or paradoxical pulse: This is an exaggeration (>12 mm Hg or 9%) of the normal inspiratory decrease in systemic blood pressure. Kussmaul sign Ewart sign The 'y' descent cheap viagra Generic Viagra buy cilais Cheap Viagra
Tags: patient, tamponade, pericardial, effusion, acute
Cardiac Tamponade - Diagnosis
Posted on April 29, 2008 in Generic medical release
Collect the detailed history Do a complete physical examination, give importance to the symptoms of the patient Lab Studies: Creatine kinase and isoenzymes: Levels are elevated in patients with myocardial infarction and cardiac trauma. Renal profile and CBC count with differential: These tests are useful in the diagnosis of uremia and certain infectious diseases associated with pericarditis. Coagulation panel: The prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time are useful for determining bleeding risk during interventions, such as pericardial drainage, the placement of pericardial windows, or both. Antinuclear antibody assay, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and rheumatoid factor: Although nonspecific, results from these tests may give clues to a connective tissue disease predisposing to the development of pericardial effusion. HIV testing: Approximately 24% of all pericardial effusions are reported to be associated with HIV infection. Purified protein derivative testing: This is used to diagnose tuberculosis, which is an important and not uncommon cause of pericardial effusion and tamponade. 4. Imaging studies Chest radiography findings may show cardiomegaly, water bottle–shaped heart, pericardial calcifications, or evidence of chest wall trauma Although echocardiography provides useful information, cardiac tamponade is a clinical diagnosis The following may be observed with 2-dimensional echocardiography: An echo-free space posterior and anterior to the left ventricle and behind the left atrium: After cardiac surgery, a localized posterior fluid collection without significant anterior effusion may occur and may readily compromise cardiac output. Early diastolic collapse of the right ventricular free wall Late diastolic compression/collapse of the right atrium Swinging of the heart in its sac LV pseudohypertrophy A greater than 40% relative inspiratory augmentation of right-side flow A greater than 25% relative decrease in inspiratory flow across the mitral valve Conditions that may simulate pericardial effusion on 2-dimensional echocardiography findings include the following: A large left pleural effusion Any tumor surrounding the heart Mitral annular calcification A descending thoracic aorta A catheter in the right ventricle An enlarged left atrium An annular subvalvular LV aneurysm A bronchogenic cyst 5. Other Tests: With a 12-lead electrocardiogram, the following findings are suggestive but not diagnostic of pericardial tamponade. Sinus tachycardia Low-voltage QRS complexes Electrical alternans (also observed during supraventricular and ventricular tachycardia): Alternation of QRS complexes, usually in a 2:1 ratio, on electrocardiogram findings is called electrical alternans. This is due to movement of the heart in the pericardial space. Electrical alternans is also observed in patients with myocardial ischemia, acute pulmonary embolism, and tachyarrhythmias. PR segment depression 6. Procedures: Swan-Ganz catheterization 7. Histologic Findings: Occasionally, a pericardial biopsy is performed when the etiology of the pericardial effusion that caused the tamponade is unclear. This is especially useful in cases of tuberculous pericardial effusions because cultures of the pericardial fluid in these cases rarely yield a positive result for mycobacteria. generic cialis Cheap Viagra generic viagra online buy cheap cialis
Tags: pericardial, effusion, findings, tamponade, cardiac