Thursday, August 27, 2015

Causes of sideroblastic anemia mnemonic

Mini post for the day!

Do you know the causes of Sideroblastic anemia? No? You guys are such liars!

Mnemonic: LIARS

Hemoglobin and erythropoiesis mnemonics

Hi everyone! Long time no see? :D

Today, I'll be sharing a few facts and mnemonics on hemoglobin and erythropoiesis. Let's get started!

Do you know the order in which hemoglobin appear from early embryo to infancy?
It's embryonic hemoglobin first (Gower 1, Gower 2, Portland) then fetal and after that, adult.
Mnemonic: Gower goes, fetal follows, adult afterwards. 
(Also, notice the reverse alphabetical order -  G, F, e, d, c, B, A)

The alphabets also pair the chains with their respective hemoglobin!
GF - Gamma Fetal
BA - Beta Adult

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Study group discussion: Contraindications of ACE inhibitors

Why ACE inhibitors are contraindicated -
During pregnancy
In CCF due to severe aortic stenosis
Bilateral renal artery stenosis

Please explain.

Study group discussion: Polygonal cells

What are polygonal cells ?

I know I'm stating the obvious, but can I guess cells which are polygonal in shape? :P

According to Google, Polygonal cells have many sides. (Four to five mostly)

The skin has a layer of polygonal cells called the stratum spinosum.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Criteria for LVH in ECG

Hey everyone!

Someone requested me to do a criteria for LVH in ECG. Here are a few!

Cornell criteria: Add the R wave in aVL and the S wave in V3. If the sum is > 28 mm in males or > 20 mm in females, then LVH is present.

Mnemonic: 20 carnivals tree
caRniVALS (Corn evil? Cornell?) tree
R in aVL (caRniVaL).
S in V three (tree).
3 looks like a Mirrored 8.
So 28 in Males, 20 in females.

Friday, August 7, 2015

ORS and baby - My ORS week poster

It's ORS week again! And this time, I made the poster in Marathi, one of my favorite languages!

ORS week poster in Marathi
For all those who don't know Marathi, here's a translation. (The dialogue might not sound as cute in English, but here it goes!)

Monday, July 27, 2015

Difference between secondary and superinfection

Should antibiotics be prescribed for an adult with the usual fever, headache and sore throat symptoms?

Not unless he develops secondary bacterial infection.

Friday, July 24, 2015

Metachromatic Leukodystrophy mnemonic

Inspired by the case I saw in the OPD yesterday, I thought I'd share a mnemonic I use to remember the same.

"Aryl has many Colorful look a like, Cerebral brothers. They are Clumsy and Crazy."

Internship diaries: Metachromatic leukodystrophy

Hey everyone! I'm posting the study group discussion we had because it's so much less to type :D

I saw a case of metachromatic leukodystrophy in the OPD yesterday.

Can anyone tell me what is metachromatic dystrophy?

For those who don't know, it's a lysosomal storage disease. Deficiency of the enzyme aryl sulfatase A causes accumulation of cerbroside sulfate.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Study group discussion: Hot vs Cold fomentation

Can anyone tell me when should we give hot fomentation and when should we give cold fomentation?

Immediately after an injury -  Cold fomentation.
Later on - Hot fomentation.

Cold is for acute injuries like sprains, joint injuries, sports injuries.

Hot is more for chronic conditions like back aches, muscle spasms.

The point is after an acute injury, you need to reduce the swelling and inflammation. So you cool the area to decrease blood flow.

After a day of injury, you would want to increase blood flow to heal the area.

Amazing!