Tissue plasminogen activator mnemonic

Greetings people!

Tissue plasminogen activator is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin, the enzyme responsible for clot breakdown.

It is used in the treatment of embolic or thrombotic stroke.
Contraindicated in hemorrhagic stroke and head trauma. The antidote for tPA in case of toxicity is epsilon aminocaproic acid.

Mnemonic is, "TPA"

T - Thrombotic and embolic stroke (Use)
P - Plasmin (Mechanism of action)
A - Aminocaproic acid (Antidote)

The dose mnemonic is, "TPA" again!

T for ten:
10% of dose given as bolus.

P mirrored looks like a 9:
0.9 mg/kg dose, maximum 90 mg.

A for an hour:
Rest of the dose is given as an infusion lasting for 60 minutes.

That's all!
-IkaN

Dominant hemisphere and handedness

Hello!
This is practical exam related concept.

In a patient with neurological symptoms, you'd like to know whether the person is left handed or right handed. Why?

Dominant hand is important in medicine because it helps us figure out the dominant hemisphere - especially, in patients with stroke.

People who are right handed have their left cerebral hemisphere dominant. 70% left handed people are left hemisphere dominant.

To figure out handedness, you can ask the person with which hand he writes. If illiterate - You can ask with which hand he prefers to eat, combs hair, etc.

Threading a needle is an excellent way to determine handedness because very frequently people tend to hold the thread in the dominant hand and hold the needle with the non dominant hand.

That's all!
I'm left cerebral hemisphere dominant. You?
-IkaN

Submissions: Microbiology notes

More submitted notes here! :)

Submissions: Cardiovascular system notes

If you cannot read or understand anything or want me to send you a picture of any chart, just let me know! - Dr. Neelofer

Lines of Zahn

Question: Does a recent thrombus contain lines of Zahn?

Asked by: Maham

Answer: Yes.

Submissions: Hematology and Oncology notes

More notes. Yaay! Submitted to us by Dr. Neelofer.

Submissions: Reproductive system notes

These were submitted to us by Dr. Neelofer.

Breath sounds mnemonic

Breath sounds! 

Vesicular sounds:
Inspiration is longer than expiration. No pause in between.
They are normal. 

Mnemonic:
VE is short. (Expiration is short)
VesI is long. (Inspiration is long)

Bronchial breath sounds:
Inspiration and expiration occupy the same duration of time and are separated by a pause. 

Heard in: Consolidation or a large cavity. 

Mnemonic:
B for Bronchial, B for Both are equal.

Broncho-vesicular sounds:
Both are equal with a pause.
Heard in: Bronchial asthma, Emphysema. 

Mnemonic:
The B for Both are equal. The hyphen reminds me of the pause.

That's all!
Everything is awesome :D
-IkaN

Related post: Auscultating breath sounds mnemonic

Side effects of atypical antipsychotics mnemonic

Hello!

In this post, I'll be talking about some side effects of antipsychotics and a few mnemonics that help me remember the same!

Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) treatment mnemonic

"HI BCR ABL"

Submissions: USMLE notes

Hello... This is Neelofer.

This is especially for all those people who are preparing for Step 1 and reading First Aid 2014.

It will save tons of your time. (I have been preparing these mnemonics since September 2014 or so!)

It would be best if one opens First Aid 2014 along with these mnemonics. Good luck!! :)

Triangles of the neck diagram and mnemonic

Hello!
This post focuses only on boundaries of various triangles in the neck. Let's do this!

Triangles of the neck

How to make concise medical notes

Making concise notes is easy!

Write key words, no sentences allowed.
Use arrows, mini organs instead of words.

Flow charts are awesome.

Draw diagrams, write points in it.
Number your points, so that you have a nice flow while revising what you wrote.

Here's an example -