Answer to Case 723
Answer to theParasite Case of the Week 723: mite, not scabies. Given that this mite was found in a fungal culture from skin scrapings, it could very well be a dust mite (Dermatophagoidessp.) as many of you suggested. However, mites are challenging to identify, so genus/species level identification is best left to the acarologists (people who study mites and ticks). The biggest concern here is its location - on a fungal culture in the mycology laboratory. Mites are a terror in the mycology lab. They crawl from plate to plate, contaminating and destroying cultures from patient samples. In most cases, the culture plates ...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - July 31, 2023 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Matthew ’s health care tidbits: Hedge Funds that Do Health Care on the Side
Each time I send out the THCB Reader, our newsletter that summarizes the best of THCB (Sign up here!) I include a brief tidbits section. Then I had the brainwave to add them to the blog. They’re short and usually not too sweet! –Matthew Holt
Lots of news about bad behavior in health care this week, with real shots about patient & staff safety at home care company Papa, and Grail misinforming 400 people that they had cancer. But the prize for tone deafness this week comes from another very well funded health care provider system being heartless to its poorest patients.
This week it’s Allina, a Minn...
Source: The Health Care Blog - June 5, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: matthew holt Tags: Health Policy Matthew Holt Allina Ascension UPMC Source Type: blogs
How many diseases are preventable by vaccines?
The power of vaccines cannot be underestimated. Take, for example, Poliomyelitis, which was a significant problem 70 years ago – and is now close to becoming a disease of the past. Not that long ago, smallpox was completely eradicated through the use of a vaccine.
As the world celebrates the imminent arrival of several COVID-19 vaccines, we might ask how many diseases are preventable by vaccines as of 2020.
Which diseases haven’t got a vaccine yet?
Of the 361 generic infectious diseases that affect humans, only 62 (17%) are preventable by vaccines. Over 100 of the remainder are caused by fungi and pa...
Source: GIDEON blog - December 17, 2020 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Kristina Symes Tags: News Therapy Source Type: blogs
Answer to Case 601
Answer:Sarcoptes scabei, the ' human itch mite 'As noted by Kosta, Patrik, and Anon, this is a larval mite, as evidenced by the presence of only 6 legs. Mites are arachnids and have 8 legs in their nymphal and adult stages. As noted by Old One in aprevious post,Sarcoptesare round to ovoid when viewed from the back; when viewed from the side they are ventrally flattened and dorsally rounded (similar to a turtle). They possess short stumpy legs, and have no internal or external respiration apparatus (stigmata or tracheae). The ventral surface contains a number of chitinized plates called apodemes, the dorsal ...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - August 2, 2020 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Answer to Case 569
Answer toParasite Case of the Week 569:Sarcoptes scabeieggs, larva and adult. Fecal pellets (scybala) are also seen. I love how you can see the larval mite emerging from the egg in this photo:As several readers mention, scabies is infectious to others, and thus the residents and health care workers in this skilled nursing facility must be evaluated for infection and treated if need be. Anonymous also mentioned that " scabies is not a problem of lack of hygiene but of overcrowding and wherever close person-to person contact is common. Scabies spreads quickly especially in nursing/care homes if no skilled GP or dermatologist...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - November 17, 2019 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Answer to Case 531
Answer toParasite Case of the Week 531:Sarcoptes scabei,var. hominis, the human " itch " mite. Seen here are mites, eggs and fecal pellets (scybala).Old one nicely described the biology and morphology of these arthropods:Sarcoptes scabeioccur in a number of host species. Primarily in swine here in Minnesota but occasionally in humans. The male mites range in size from 213-285 μm long by 162-240 μm wide and the female mites range from 300-504 μm long to 230-420 μm wide.Sarcoptesare round to ovoid when viewed from the back; when viewed from the side they are ventrally flattened and dorsally rounded (similar to a turtle)....
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - February 10, 2019 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Crusted scabies
(Source: Notes from Dr. RW)
Source: Notes from Dr. RW - January 13, 2019 Category: Internal Medicine Tags: dermatology Source Type: blogs
Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 247
LITFL • Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog LITFL • Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog - Emergency medicine and critical care medical education blog
Just when you thought your brain could unwind on a Friday, you realise that it would rather be challenged with some good old fashioned medical trivia FFFF…introducing Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 247 (with a little art contribution from Dr Michelle Johnston)
Readers can subscribe to FFFF RSS or subscribe to the FFFF weekly EMAIL
Question 1
What is the poison that Socrates is about to voluntarily consume?
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436105...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - August 3, 2018 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Neil Long Tags: Frivolous Friday Five Aorta brown sequard epilepsy hemlock Jacques Louis David Joseph Lawrence joseph lister Listerine Marat Socrates stabbing Source Type: blogs
MKSAP: 32-year-old man with a rash on his face and midchest
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 32-year-old man is evaluated for a 2-week history of a rash on his face and midchest. He describes the rash as consisting of small, reddish “lumps” that are intensely itchy; they develop and begin to resolve with development of new lesions. He otherwise feels well. Medical history is significant for a recent diagnosis of HIV infection. Medications are tenofovir, emtricitabine, efavirenz, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. On physical examination, vital signs are normal.
The patient has 1- to 3-mm papules a...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 11, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/mksap" rel="tag" > mksap < /a > Tags: Conditions Dermatology Infectious Disease Source Type: blogs
Answer to Case 465
Answer:Sarcoptes scabeiinfection (scabies); the clinical picture is consistent with crusted ( " Norwegian " ) scabies.Unlike the classical variant of scabies, crusted scabies does not usually present with severe itching. This is particularly remarkable, given the high mite burden in these cases! The lack of severe itching is related to the depressed immunity of infected individuals. People with crusted scabies are infected with the same mite as people with the classical variant of scabies, but are usually immunocompromised or severely debilitated. Without the host immune response to keep the infection in check, the mites p...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - October 22, 2017 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
A Buggy Case
A 35-year-old man with a history of asthma presented with an exposure after spraying his garage with an insecticide he bought at the hardware store. Shortly after spraying the insecticide, he noticed eye itchiness, tingling, pruritus over his arms and legs, and shortness of breath. His blood pressure was 130/85 mm Hg, heart rate 70 bpm, respiratory rate 14 bpm, temperature 98.7°F, and SpO2 96% on room air.He was alert and anxious, his skin was warm with mild erythema, and he had urticaria over his forearms and ankles. His lung exam revealed diffuse wheezing bilaterally. His eyes were watery, and his pupils were 4 mm...
Source: The Tox Cave - July 3, 2017 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Answer to Case 430
Answer:Sarcoptes scabei, the scabies or human itch mite. The presence of thick skin crusts is consistent with crusted or ' Norwegian ' scabies.This case demonstrates adult mites (with 8 legs) and nymphs and larvae (with 6 legs). Eggs with clearly-visible internal larvae are also seen:Here are some fun facts about Sarcoptes scabei.They are arachnids, rather than insects (related to ticks and spiders). Also they undergo incomplete metamorphosis between life cycle stages (i.e. they are hemimetabolus). That means that the immature forms such as larvae and nymphs look very similar to the adults. That is quite differen...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - January 13, 2017 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 156
Just when you thought your brain could unwind on a Friday, you realise that it would rather be challenged with some good old fashioned medical trivia FFFF…introducing Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 155
Question 1
What is the story behind the Cochrane logo?
+ Reveal the Funtabulous Answer
expand(document.getElementById('ddet1929929766'));expand(document.getElementById('ddetlink1929929766'))
The forest plot within the logo shows one of the first meta analyses done by Cochrane. It was showing the benefit of corticosteroids given to women who are about to give birth prematurely.
Despite several trials showing the...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - August 26, 2016 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Neil Long Tags: Frivolous Friday Five cochrane logo fava beans G6PD deficiency Hannibal methaemoglobinaemia scabies scrivener's palsy seven year itch writers palsy Source Type: blogs
