 |
MT Newsletter |  |
|---|---|---|
|
SMT Faculty
Jessie Jacob Manu Prakash Rema Valsala |
Thought for the month: |
Change your thoughts and you change your world. ...Norman Vincent Peale |
|
MT Newsletter | |
|---|---|---|
|
SMT Faculty
Jessie Jacob Manu Prakash Rema Valsala |
Thought for the month: |
Change your thoughts and you change your world. ...Norman Vincent Peale |
|
FAQs
Standards Questionnaire |
Neither the brothers nor the sister appears to be cooperative.
Do not cast your pearls before swine -- Do not give a precious thing to someone who cannot value it. . She was more a hindrance than help. He is not a dependable man. It is customary to greet one another at Christmas. Compliment: An expression of esteem. respect, or admiration. A flattering remark. |
|
Q. What is the stool O&P test?
The stool O&P test is the stool ova and parasites test. In this test, a stool sample is examined for the presence of intestinal parasites and their eggs, which are called ova. In persons with symptoms of gastrointestinal infection the ova and parasites test is performed to look for and identify intestinal parasites and their eggs. Patients may present with no symptoms, or may experience diarrhea, blood in the stools, and other gastrointestinal distress. Identification of a particular parasite indicates the cause of the patient's disease and determines the medication needed to treat it. The test may be done in the doctor's office or a laboratory. The patient is asked to collect stool samples in one or more sterile containers containing special chemical fixatives. The feces should be collected directly into the container. It must not be contaminated with urine, water, or other materials. Three specimens are often needed; collected every other day, or every third day. The specimen does not need refrigeration. It should be delivered to the doctor's office or laboratory within 12 hours. In the laboratory, the stool sample is observed for signs of parasites and their eggs. Some parasites are large enough to be seen without a microscope. For others, microscope slides are prepared with fresh unstained stool, and with stool dyed with special stains. These preparations are observed with a microscope for the presence of parasites or their eggs. Most common intestinal parasites that cause infections are: roundworms: Ascaris lumbricoides hookworms: Necator americanus pinworms: Enterobius follicularis tapeworms: Diphyllobothrium latum, Taenia saginata, and Taenia solium protozoa: Entamoeba histolytica (an amoeba), and Giardia lamblia (a flagellate)Normal results Normally, parasites and eggs should not be found in stools. Some parasites are not pathogenic, which means they do not cause disease. If these are found, no treatment is necessary. Abnormal results The presence of any pathogenic parasite indicates an intestinal parasitic infection. Depending on the parasite identified, other tests may need to be performed to determine if the parasite has invaded other parts of the body. Some parasites travel from the intestines to other parts of the body and may already have caused damage to other tissues by the time a diagnosis is made. For example, the roundworm, Ascaris penetrates the intestinal wall and can cause inflammation in the abdomen. It can also migrate to the lungs and cause pneumonia. This kind of injury can occur weeks before the roundworm eggs show up in the stool. Other types of damage caused by intestinal parasites include anemia due to hemorrhage caused by hookworms, and anemia caused by depletion of vitamin B12 through the action of tapeworms. When a parasite is identified, the patient can be treated with the appropriate medications to eliminate the parasite. Q. What are drug-eluting stents? Stent: A device placed in a body structure (such as a blood vessel or the gastrointestinal tract) to provide support and keep the structure open. Patients with coronary artery disease who develop blockage due to fat and cholesterol deposits inside the arteries are treated by a technique known as PTCA (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty). The blocked arteries are opened up allowing blood to circulate unobstructed to the heart muscle. A balloon-tipped tube (catheter) is inserted through the femoral artery and guided to the blocked section of the coronary artery and positioned so the balloon part of the tube is beside the blockage. The balloon is then inflated for a few seconds to compress the blockage against the artery wall. Then the balloon is deflated. The doctor may repeat this a few times, each time pumping up the balloon a little more to widen the passage for the blood to flow through. This treatment may be repeated at each blocked site in the coronary arteries. A Brief History of Stenting: The concept of the stent grew directly out of experience with angioplasty balloons in the first few years of use (the early 80s). Sometimes the wall of the coronary artery became weakened after balloon dilatation. Although the artery would be opened successfully using a balloon, in a small percentage of cases, the artery would collapse after the balloon was deflated -- sometimes this happened after the patient had been moved to the recovery room. The only option for this patient was emergency bypass graft surgery to repair the problem. A second problem that became evident was that approximately 30% of all coronary arteries began to close up again (restenosis) after balloon angioplasty. Various radiologists and cardiologists were working on solutions to these problems, designing new devices in hopes they would provide more safety and durability to the procedures. One such device was the stent -- a metal tube or "scaffold" that was inserted after balloon angioplasty. The stent itself was mounted on a balloon and could be opened once inside the coronary artery. In 1986, working in Toulouse, France, Jacques Puel and Ulrich Sigwart inserted the first stent into a human coronary artery. Over the next decade, several generations of bare metal stents were developed, with each succeeding one being more flexible and easier to deliver. Stenting compared to medical therapy alone significantly improves quality of life in terms of reducing angina, reducing hospitalization, and improving exercise tolerance. Stents virtually eliminated many of the complications of abrupt artery closure, but restenosis persisted necessitating a repeat procedure. Restenosis actually was the body's response to the "controlled injury" of angioplasty and was characterized by growth of smooth muscle cells -- roughly similar to a scar forming over an injury. Development of Drug-Eluting Stents: A variety of drugs that were known to interrupt the biological processes that caused restenosis were tested. Stents were coated with these drugs, sometimes imbedded in a thin polymer for time-release, and clinical trials were conducted. A drug-eluting stent (also referred to as a coated or medicated stent) is a normal metal stent that has been coated with a pharmacologic agent (drug) that is known to interfere with the process of restenosis (reblocking). The drug-eluting stent has been extremely successful in reducing restenosis. Drug eluting stents are a true revolution in the care of patients with coronary artery disease because they reduce the risk of restenosis in the patient by approximately 75% compared to a bare metal stent. Therefore it is much more likely that patients will be symptom-free for an extended period of time after stent implantation, not require repeat procedures, will have a better quality of life and will ultimately avoid the need for bypass surgery. It allows the treatment of more patients with higher risk of restenosis such as patients with advanced diabetes. Currently two drug-eluting stents, Cypher (sirolimus-eluting stent) and Taxus (paclitaxel-eluting stent), have received FDA approval for sale in the United States. Both the Taxus and Cypher stents have shown significant reduction of restenosis in clinical trials and in the field as well. The Taxus stent may have properties that are beneficial to treating diabetic patients as well. There are several other drug-eluting stents for treatment of coronary artery disease and peripheral vascular disease that are undergoing clinical investigation and there will be iterations and improvements in the existing and future ones. |
| Top |
|
General rules for creating the plural forms of medical terms:
In general, most nouns are made plural by adding 's' or 'es' to the singular form. The same rules usually apply to nouns in medical reports. However many medical terms are of Latin and Greek origin; therefore they do not follow the English rules. Example: The plural form of diagnosis is NOT diagnosises but diagnoses. When a word ends in us, change the us to i Examples: Staphylococcus - staphylococci Alveolus alveoli Bronchus bronchi Calculus calculi Fungus fungi Glomerulus glomeruli Malleolus malleoli Meniscus menisci A few exceptions: Plexus plexuses Corpus corpora Meatus meatus or meatuses Viscus viscera When a word ends in is, change the is to es Examples: Urinalysis urinalyses Anastomosis anastomoses Diagnosis diagnoses Ecchymosis ecchymoses Exostosis exostoses Prognosis prognoses Metastasis metastases When a word ends in a, form the plural by adding an e Examples: Vertebra - vertebrae Lamina laminae Maxilla maxillae Sclera - sclerae Exception: Adnexa This Latin word (in the plural) is used in medicine in reference to appendages. For example, in gynecology the word adnexa means appendages or auxiliary parts of the uterus, namely the ovaries, Fallopian tubes and ligaments that hold the uterus in place. Examples: 'Adnexa are normal should be used always, DO NOT type 'Adnexa is normal' 'The right and left adnexa are nontender', NOT adnexae or adnexi Words that are always plural in use Examples: Feces Genitalia Menses Scabies Tongs Tweezers Words that are always singular in use Examples: Circulation Vision Ascites Herpes Words that can be used as singular or plural Examples: Biceps Forceps Scissors Series Miscellaneous Examples: Index - indices Diverticulum - diverticula Phenomenon - phenomena Condyloma - condylomata Appendix - appendices Criterion - criteria Datum - data Uterus - uteri Phalanx phalanges Foramen - foramina |
| Top |
|
Q. The word used to describe a person who can use both hands equally well is _________.
a. ambivalent b. ambidextrous c. ambiguous Q. Select the meaning of the proverb -- All roads lead to Rome. . a. A mistake can be a great teacher. b. A person with deficiencies finds excuses for his lack of skill. c. People can arrive at the same conclusion by different means. d. One should not assume success prior to actually achieving it. Q. Fill in the blanks with the suitable word given in brackets: 1. Palpation of the area did not __________ pain. (elicit, illicit) 2. If you have ____________ questions about the medical procedure, please call. (further, farther) 3. The pupils were ____________ on examination. (diluted, dilated) Q. Find the meaning of these homonyms: affect and effect allude and elude pale and pail See the answers in the next month's issue.... |
| Top |