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MT Newsletter |  |
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Compiled by
Dr. Rema Valsala |
Thought for the month: |
Experience teaches slowly and at the cost of mistakes. ...James A. Froude |
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MT Newsletter | |
|---|---|---|
|
Compiled by
Dr. Rema Valsala |
Thought for the month: |
Experience teaches slowly and at the cost of mistakes. ...James A. Froude |
|
FAQs
Standards Questionnaire |
The term used for difficulty in writing or writer's cramp is dysgraphia.
The idiom, "Go out on a limb" means -- Take a risk in order to support something or someone.. The patient is loath to undertake surgery at this time. Examination of the abdomen reveals no discrete masses. The patient was diagnosed with arthritis of the knee. A sponge was used to blot the oozing blood.. He was brought to the emergency room in a state of coma. Inflammation: A dynamic complex of cytologic and chemical reactions that occur in the affected blood vessels and adjacent tissues in response to an injury or abnormal stimulation caused by a physical, chemical, |
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Q. What is BPPV?
BPPV is the abbreviation for Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, a disorder in which changing the head position with respect to gravity leads to sudden vertigo - a feeling that the room is spinning around. The vertigo can vary in its intensity from mild to severe and usually lasts for less than one minute. It may be accompanied by other symptoms, including dizziness, lightheadedness, a sense of imbalance, and nausea and vomiting. BPPV is a common cause of dizziness. About 20% of all dizziness is due to BPPV. Movements that can trigger an episode of BPPV include rolling over or sitting up in bed, bending the head forward to look down or tipping the head backward (sometimes called 'top shelf vertigo'). The use of shampoo bowls in beauty parlors may bring on symptoms in women with BPPV. BPPV may be present for a few weeks, then stop, then come back again. In most people, only a single ear is affected, although both ears may be involved on occasion. The vestibular system is the organ of balance in the inner ear. It includes loop-shaped structures called semicircular canals that contain fluid and fine, hair-like sensors that give the brain information about balance. Near the semicircular canals is the utricle, which contains tiny granules or crystals of calcium carbonate known as otoconia. These particles are attached to sensors that help detect back-and-forth motion. In the utricle, the otoconia may be loosened as a result of injury, infection, or age, and they land in a sac, the utriculus, where they are naturally dissolved. BPPV is a disorder involving the vestibular system. BPPV develops when the otoconia shift into and become trapped within the semicircular canals. However, otoconia in the semicircular canals will not dissolve, and, as a person's head position changes with respect to gravity, the otoconia begin to roll around and push on tiny hairs lining the semicircular canals. Those hairs act as sensors to give the brain information about balance. Vertigo develops when the hairs are stimulated by the rolling otoconia. In certain positions they can irritate the nerve endings associated with balance, giving a false signal of movement and causing a brief sensation of spinning. Etiology: In half of all cases, BPPV is called "idiopathic," which means it occurs for no known reason. The most common cause of BPPV in people under age 50 is head injury. An association with migraine has also been found. In older people, the most common cause is degeneration of the vestibular system of the inner ear. Unusual causes are viral vestibular neuritis, minor strokes such as those involving the anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA syndrome), Meniere disease and trauma to the ear during ear surgery. Diagnosis: With advances in medical technology, BPPV can be easily diagnosed and treated. The diagnosis can usually be made in the office based on history and physical examination. Complications: BPPV is not a sign of a serious problem, and it has often been described as "self-limiting" because symptoms often subside or disappear within six weeks after its initial onset. Symptoms tend to wax and wane. However, the symptoms of BPPV can be very disturbing and may be dangerous, especially in older individuals, because unsteadiness associated with BPPV can lead to falls. About half of all people over the age of 65 experience an episode of BPPV at some time, and falls in older individuals are a leading cause of fractures. Accidents while driving a car or operating heavy machinery are also common. Treatment: Medications prescribed for motion sickness are sometimes helpful in controlling the nausea associated with BPPV but are otherwise rarely beneficial. Medications should not be used long-term. It is usually advisable to attempt the particle repositioning procedure, which is a very safe, rapid, and simple in-office procedure done to relieve symptoms and minimize the chance for falls. Particle repositioning maneuver The particle repositioning procedure takes about 15 minutes to complete and involves a series of physical maneuvers that change the position of the head and body in order to shift the otoconia out of the semicircular canals and back into their proper location in the utriculus. The maneuvers are done while the patient is sitting up and lying on a treatment table. They are very easy to perform. Patients should wear comfortable clothing that will allow them to move freely. The particle repositioning procedure is effective in treating about 80% to 90% of cases of BPPV. Additional exercise or repositioning maneuvers may be needed if symptoms persist. Q. What is Pulse oximetry? Oxygen saturation is the percentage of hemoglobin that is carrying oxygen. Oxygen saturation is also referred to as O2 sat or SaO2. Pulse oximetry is the method used to calculate oxygen saturation. Oximetry is performed noninvasively, usually on the finger or ear lobe. The small increase in absorption of light during the systolic pulse is used to calculate the oxygen saturation. The instrument used is the pulse oximeter. The pulse oximeter consists of a probe attached to the patient's finger or ear lobe which is linked to a computerised unit. The unit displays the percentage of hemoglobin saturated with oxygen together with an audible signal for each pulse beat, a calculated heart rate and in some models, a graphical display of the blood flow past the probe. Audible alarms which can be programmed by the user are provided. An oximeter detects hypoxia before the patient becomes clinically cyanosed. Advantages of Pulse oximetry Pulse oximeters may be used in a variety of situations but are of particular value for monitoring oxygenation and pulse rates throughout anesthesia. They are also widely used during the recovery phase. The oxygen saturation should always be above 95%. In patients with long standing respiratory disease or those with cyanotic congenital heart disease readings may be lower and reflect the severity of the underlying disease. In intensive care oximeters are used extensively during mechanical ventilation and frequently detect problems with oxygenation before they are noticed clinically. They are used as a guide for weaning from ventilation and also to help assess whether a patient's oxygen therapy is adequate. In some hospitals oximeters are used in the wards and in casualty departments. Oximetry has been shown to increase safety by alerting the staff to unexpected hypoxia when patients are sedated for procedures such as endoscopy. |
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ADVERBS:
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Some but not all adverbs end in -ly. Many words which are not adverbs also end in -ly such as kindly, friendly, elderly, and lonely, which are adjectives. Adverbs describe the manner, place, time, frequency, or purpose of an action. Examples: Manner: The patient speaks slowly. Place: The meeting is going to take place here. Time: I called the patient yesterday. Frequency: She usually gets up early. Purpose: I write poems for fun. An adverb may be placed between the parts of a compound verb, provided it does not obstruct the meaning. Example: He will routinely return for followup. It is increasingly acceptable to split an infinitive verb (e.g., the verb to be) with an adverb.. Example: The test was expected to definitively determine the diagnosis. Some words can function as adverbs or adjectives, depending on how they are used.. Examples: Adverb Adjective play hard hard work travel light light colorAdverb phrases made with prepositions. Examples: He hit the nail with a hammer. We must complete our work before the holidays. The man who lives next door is an attorney. Adverb phrases made with infinitives, most of these phrases express purpose. Examples: I am saving my money to buy a house. She brought her old x-rays to show to her doctor. Squinting modifiers. A squinting modifier is usually an adverb that is placed between two sentence elements, either one of which could be modified by that same adverb. The adverb seems to be 'squinting'- looking or pointing in two directions at once - and therefore may be confusing. The placement of the adverb results in giving the sentence a different meaning. Examples: He only walked 2 blocks. (He only walked, not ran).. Only he walked 2 blocks. (Only he, not anyone else, walked 2 blocks).. He walked only 2 blocks. (He didn’t walk more than 2 blocks).. |
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Q. The administration of many drugs at the same time is known as _____________.
a. polypathia b. polyphagia c. polypharmacy Q. The idiom, "Skin of your teeth" means _____________. a. To be in an advantageous position. b. To barely escape from a harrowing situation. c. To finally agree on a transaction. Q. Fill in the blanks with the suitable word given in brackets: 1. X-rays showed ______ formation at the fracture site. (callus, callous) 2. Rectal examination was ______ . (differed, deferred) 3. Patients are required to ______ consent to a surgery. (formerly, formally) 4. The patient is worried that he might ______ his job. (loose, lose) 5. The incision wound has ______ adequately. (heeled, healed) Q. Find the meaning of these homonyms: wheal and wheel descent and dissent hemostasis and homeostasis See the answers in the next month's issue.... |
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