MKSAP: 21-year-old woman with mosquito bites
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 21-year-old woman is evaluated for mosquito bites on her arms and legs that she received 1 week ago that she has been scratching regularly. One of the bites on her left thigh is now painful with a small amount of drainage. She otherwise feels well, has no significant medical history, and takes no medications.
On physical examination, vital signs are normal. A weeping red papule with overlying honey-colored crust is present on the anterior left thigh. There is no surrounding or extension of the redness, no lymp...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - July 1, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/mksap" rel="tag" > mksap < /a > Tags: Conditions Infectious disease Source Type: blogs
MKSAP: 52-year-old woman with a burning sensation on her forehead
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 52-year-old woman had a burning sensation involving the right side of her forehead and the tip of her nose for 2 days, followed by increased redness and the development of lesions involving the tip of her nose. Medical history is significant for hypertension, and her only medication is ramipril.
On physical examination, vital signs are normal. Skin examination shows an erythematous patch on the right side of the forehead with scattered overlying grouped vesicles and a vesicle on the tip of the nose with backgr...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 21, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: mksap Tags: Conditions Neurology Source Type: blogs
Gowns and gloves in the ICU: Part of the infection control solution
It’s good to see health care providers continue to work on strategies to reduce health care acquired infections. Handwashing is a key component —but hospitals struggle to achieve compliance and are now turning to patients to be the bad cop, much to my dismay.
A simple new strategy in intensive care units is showing promise: having doctors and nurses where gloves and gowns with all patients, not just those who are known to have antibiotic resistant bacteria. It takes more time and costs a bit of money, but seems to cut down dramatically on MRSA infections without generating adverse events. The study is important...
Source: Health Business Blog - October 8, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: dewe67 Tags: Research antibiotic resistant bacteria intensive care units MRSA infections Source Type: blogs
Medical Mispronunciations and Misspelled Words: The Definitive List.
Hearing medical mispronunciations and seeing misspelled words are an under appreciated joy of working in healthcare. Physicians often forget just how alien the language of medicine is to people who don't live it everyday. The best part about being a physician is not helping people recover from critical illness. The best part is not about listening and understanding with compassion and empathy. Nope, the best part about being a physician is hearing patients and other healthcare providers butcher the language of medicine and experiencing great entertainment in the process. Doctors c...
Source: The Happy Hospitalist - October 2, 2013 Category: Internists and Doctors of Medicine Authors: Tamer Mahrous Source Type: blogs
Screening inpatients for MRSA—case closed.
It isn't often that you see a headline like this in the medical world. But such are the conclusions reached by Michael B. Edmond, M.D., M.P.H., and Richard P. Wenzel, M.D.in an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine. The editorial commented on the results of an extensive study by Susan S. Huang et al published by NEJM, entitled, "Targeted versus Universal Decolonization to Prevent ICU Infection."This is a big deal. For a number of years, people have been arguing over the issue of whether screening patients for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, with subsequent isolation, would be b...
Source: Running a hospital - May 30, 2013 Category: Health Managers Source Type: blogs
Feel the Felon
Last time we discussed some ways to approach and manage the acute paronychia, but yet another unfortunate criminal robs our nail of its fine fettle: the nefarious felon. The felon’s early signs and symptoms may be subtle so don’t be fooled. This tender, fingerpad infection is not to be ignored. The enclosed fascial spaces of the fingertip pulp will be tender, and appear red and hot, which should mimic your aggressiveness and approach to stop it in its tracks. Figure out that felon, be tender, and forge ahead!
Some thoughts before proceeding. Your fingertip has thousands of nerves, and is very sensitive. Consider all...
Source: The Procedural Pause - May 29, 2013 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Please Poke My Paronychium!
THE BASICSWhat is more satisfying than draining a pus-filled paronychium? Seeing the look of relief on the face of your patient when his painful, pulsating digit is relieved of all that tension! This rather elementary procedure could be perceived as stale and uneventful for some of you. The more thorough and astute clinicians, however, realize these tiny infections around the nail root may open the door to a mixed bag of insidious and harmful bacterial infections including MRSA, chronic reoccurrences, cellulitis, subungual abscesses, osteomyelitis, herpetic whitlow, or even the dreaded felon.
Whatever your pleasure, thi...
Source: The Procedural Pause - May 1, 2013 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
