Why no new posts?

My dear MT friends:

I have stopped working as an MT and have moved to finance sector which had been a long term goal of mine.  This is the reason why MT Diary has not been updated of late.  As you all know, knowledge increases the more we share it and the thrill of learning new medical terms, new English words, new techniques was the best part of being a MT and that was the reason I started this blog, to act as a diary, where we MTs can discuss, learn and share about new stuffs.  So, if you are interested in posting here, just mail me at deekay.kochi@gmail.com or leave a comment here, and I will add you as a contributor, let us keep the flame burning........:-)

Cheers and regards

Deekay

Arraign and serial 7

It has been some time that I got to do a psychiatric file. More ever, it was a new dictator and so there were a couple of new words.  The first word although not a medical word, still had me scampering all over the net.  I was hearing something like reined/reigned and it looked like a court summon, and finally I zeroed in on arraign, which was the correct word.


While I was searching the net for serial 7 tests, (which is nothing but a test of concentration wherein the patient is asked to subtract 7 from 100 in a serial fashion audibly and as fast as he can) I came across this in-depth article on Mental Status Examination, you will find it here.

Cold turkey

When a person who has a habit or addiction, which he abruptly gives up rather than easing out gradually with the help of replacement medication, it is called cold turkey (this action of abruptly giving up is cold turkey).


I remember my uncle telling me how he quit smoking.  He was a chain smoker and one fine day he just quit (now i know that was cold turkey :-)).  On the first day his craving was very strong, but he had taken a vow that every time he had the urge to smoke, he would eat a vada.  He ended up eating 60 vadas on the first day, eventually his cravings went away and he has never smoked to this day.

Fiance vs Fiancee

According to American Heritage dictionary, Fiance is a man engaged to be married, where as Fiancee is a  woman engaged to be married.  See the difference, male only gets single "e" where as female gets "ee".....gender bias, isn't it? ....;-)

Hedonia

Hello everybody, it has been really some time that i blogged here.  I have been somewhat busy because of this and that is the only reason MT diary has not been updated for sometime now, but I will try my best to keep this blog active, in the meantime, keep visiting friends, ;-).


Today while doing a psychiatry file, I kept hearing hedonia and was going bonkers until my friend google came up with the term anhedonia, which in psychiatry/psychology means not finding pleasure in things which were earlier enjoyable.  So don't let hedonia fool you...:-).

Splenic sequestration

A couple of days back, I was doing a GI file wherein the doctor was able to palpate the spleen of the patient and I heard him saying "splenic sequestration" a couple of times in the note.  Please visit here for details about this condition.

MT week in US

May 20-26 is celebrated as MT week in US and Jay Vance, a veteran MT, CMT, and MT consultant, has come up with these songs composed and sung by himself.....they are wonderful, just click here.

Types of fractures

I had jotted this way back in 2006 and had forgotten about it, just now came across it and thought of posting here...:-).

TYPE OF FRACTURES

Open:  Visible by eyes.                         Simple:  Only 1 break.

Closed:  Not visible by eyes.                 Compound:  More than 1 break.

KIDS

Greenstick

Growth plate

ADULTS

Pathogenic

Stress

Compression:  In old, weak and fragile people.

Osteoporotic fracture:

Joint

Spiral:  Does not break, only cracks.

Comminuted

Occult

Avulsion:  Occurs in joints, at bones covered by tendons.

How to calculate age

It is difficult to always depend upon our ears to hear out the age as dictated by the doctors.  The 50s and 60s always sound same except for those doctors who are very very clear.  To avoid this confusion, it is better to always cross check with the date of birth.  This is how I do it....suppose the patient's date of birth is July 4, 1980.  Current date or date of dictation is May 10, 2011.  To calculate the age of this patient, just subtract 1980 from 2010.  If the patient is born on a day before date of dictation or current date, for eg say March 4, 1980, then subtract 1980 from 2011.  So a patient who was born on July 4, 1980 would be (2010-1980) 30 years old today, whereas patient who was born on March 4, 1980, would be (2011-1980) 31 years old.

Glossomegaly

I was searching for reference for "glossomegaly" when I came across this website explaining medical terminology  for enlarged as well as small organs.  Please go through it, I found it informative.

Trim sulfa

Trim sulfa is not there in Quick Look as it is a combination drug.


It is a combination antimicrobrial drug, which by two consecutive steps blocks protein synthesis in susceptible bacteria.


When used alone the sulfonamides are bacteriostatic, and the trimethoprim is bactericidal, but when used in combination form the potentiated sulfas are bactericidal.


This combination drug has broad-spectrum activity. It is effective against Gram-positive bacteria such as streptococci and some strains of staphylococcus. Gram-negative organisms of the enterobacteriaceae are also susceptible to this drug. However, it does not appear to be effective against either mycoplasma, or Pseudomonas aeruginosa.


Trimethoprim sulfa is able to penetrate into exudate and abscessed tissue, as well as, penetrate the blood-brain-eye-placenta barrier. It is well absorbed orally with minimal effect on flora of the GI tract.


Trimethoprim sulfa is metabolized by the liver, and excreted during glomerular filtration and tubular secretion.


source:  http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/trimethoprim_sulfa.php

COMPANION trial

Comparison of Medical Therapy, Pacing, and Defibrillation in Heart Failure (COMPANION) Trial

The COMPANION trial is the largest heart failure device trial to date. The trial shows that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT),
used in combination with optimal pharmacologic therapy (OPT), can significantly improve both the quality and duration of life for a large group
of heart failure patients.

The COMPANION trial followed more than 1500 heart failure patients from 128 US center.

source:  http://www.bostonscientific-international.com

Curbsided

Dictator was stating "Infectious disease was curbsided.........." on repeated hearings, I could clearly hear the word "curbsided", but American Heritage Dictionary just gave the meaning of curbside as side of pavement or street, and my usual lookout in case of slangs, the urban dictionary came up with this "to force one of their personal belongings in an act of violence or threats"....finally google search with key word curbside consult landed me on this info...."An informal and unofficial consultation obtained from a health professional by either a layperson or a fellow health care professional," which was what had happened in my case.............phew.

SHIM score

The SHIM, or sexual health inventory for men, score is widely used in clinical practice and research to assess erectile dysfunction (ED), or impotence in men. Erectile dysfunction is loss of the ability to sustain an erection for intercourse. The severity of ED according to a SHIM score is from 1 to 25, with 1 being the most severe and 25 being healthy. Men with a SHIM score of 21 or under are generally told to seek medical advice to find out the cause of their ED. Prostate cancer is not necessarily a cause of ED, but treatments for prostate cancer can lead to ED.

Read more @: SHIM Score & Prostate Cancer

Pink Swizzle

I was doing this file and kept on hearing 'pink swizzle', but did not find any reference to this term, finally while leafing through a forum, came across this info about it, "a concoction consisting of steroid plus anti-fungal", used to treat genitourinary infections, as was the case in my file.

IPDA

IPDA stands for inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery, could not find it in my Stedmans Abbreviation dictionary, so thought about adding it here.  This was a GI file......:) 

Cusmol respiration

Please dont be mislead...there is no such term as Cusmol respiration, it is actually Kussmaul respiration, a form of hyperventilation, where breathing is increased above the required rate.  Cusmol was how the dictator pronounced it.....:)

geneticist vs orthopedist

once again.....:)

Orthopedist vs anesthetist

Came across this video while googling for an anatomical word.....watch and enjoy....

Jalyn for BPH

Jalyn is a comparatively new drug.  It was approved by FDA on June 14, 2010.  It is a combination of dutasteride and tamsulosin and used for treatment of symptomatic benign hyperplasia in men with enlarged prostate.


source:  Drugs.com 

Tenecteplase

After many days, I got into this scenario, very typical for MTs, a stat job, multiple blanks and a common word at all places, (this will be the climax of upcoming movie/novella I am not empty*).  I was hearing "TNK place" at all the blanks and grandpa Stedman's had no entry for TNK, but thanks again to Sherlock "Google" Holmes, who acting on bits of information provided by me, was able to zero in on tenecteplase.  Just another day at office for MT man.


* the movie/novella is in foetal stage right now.

fightobezoar and sneaky eye

Fight-o-bezoar was what I heard and phytobezoar was what was dictated.


Sneaky eye was what I heard and snechiae was what was dictated.  Wikipedia describes snechia as an eye ailment, but according to Stedman's, it can be any adhesion (I was doing a GU file).  Jai Ho Stedman's

Picture slide on heart

I found this picture slide interesting and thought to share it with fellow MTs.  Please click on this to view.

Coumadinization

Heard something similar to Coumadin + nization, but did not pay any heed, on second hearing was hearing Coumadinization more clearly, and then on googling, I found this, and also the patient had a history of Coumadin use.  Thus, I was able to save some TAT and also keep my pend percentage within checks......:)