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Treatment of AMS in ED – Mnemonic
The contributor of this medical mnemonic is Sean. Thank you!
For patients who present to the ED with altered mental status you should always BeGiN FLUIDS
B1 (thiamine deficiency)
Glucose (hypoglycemic)
Naloxone (opioid intox)
FLUIDS (dehydration)
Note: although AMS (Altered Mental Status) might be due to hyperosmolar hyperglycemia in type II DM, raising the blood glucose by 100 pts will not significantly worsen their condition, while failing to treat hypoglycemia can have profound consequences
Triple Screen Test mnemonic
It is not exactly a mnemonic, but a good way to remember some details about triple screen test.
To increase the sensitivity for detecting chromosomal abnormalities labs use the Triple Screen Test.
TRI-ple screen test is used for TRI-somy 18 and TRI-somy 21 (both 18 and 21 are TRI-somies and can be divided by 3). TRI-ple screen is test for MSAFP, estriol and beta-hCG.
In TRI-somy 18 everything is low.
TRI-somy 21 can be present like 2+1, which means that the first 2 are low and the second one is high (there is a + sign in front 1, which shows that the levels are high). Now, the question is, how to remember which one of MSAFP, estriol and beta-hCG is high. In Down syndrome there is a high amount of beta-amyloid (cause for Alzheimer’s Dz before 40 years of age). The other beta thing that is increased in Down syndrome is beta-hCG. Now, there is no way to forget what I just said.
Just a little point: in spina bifida AFP is high. Think that AFP leaks out trough the openings in the spinal column (the term spina bifida comes from Latin and literally means “split” or “open” spine) and its level is high. In Down syndrome the AFP level is down. This is kind of easy to remember.
Heart murmurs mnemonic — systolic vs. diastolic
The contributor of this medical mnemonic is Kate. Thank you!
I always find myself getting confused on which murmurs or systolic vs. diastolic, but knew that once I got them in the right phase of the cycle I’d be able to differentiate them.
With that in mind and my weird logic… and knowing that there’s one Aortic and Mitral and one regurg and stenosis in each half… May I introduce:
Ms. Dee Sas
MS (mitral stenosis) = Diastolic (and thus aortic regurg as well).
SAS = systolic aortic stenosis (and thus mitral regurg).
From there, you just have to remember a few key words… continuous, click, crescendo-descrendo, etc.
Using this helped me SIGNIFICANTLY not only on my cardiovasc pathophys unit, but also on step 1 and on the wards.
FLAT PIG medical mnemonic
Murmurs recognition – part 1
This is a guest post from vanumu . You can also find and follow him on twitter @vanstar7. I am a huge fan of his work.
Let’s review the basics!
Blood flow through the heart
Let’s look at the basic flow of blood through the heart using a simple diagram.
Deoxygenated Blood flows from the body into the right atrium (RA).
Then it travels through the the tricuspid valve to the right ventricle(RV). Continue reading
Secondary Hypertension Mnemonic
95% of hypertension is primary (idiopathic). 5% is secondary and causes include CHAPS:
Hyperaldosteronism (Conn’s syndrome)
Stenosis of the renal arteries
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Medical mnemonic for the order in which the heart valves close
The contributor of this medical mnemonic is Kristen. Thank you!
Medical mnemonic for the order in which the heart valves close:
My — Mitral
Teeth — Tricuspid
Are — Aortic
Pretty — Pulmonary
And then you smile, because you got it right!
Southern, Northern, and Western Blot Mnemonic
Southern, Northern, and Western Blot Medical Mnemonic for USMLE: snow drop.
Southern Northern O Western
DNA RNA O Protein
This is a good example for a very powerful mnemonic. On my step 1 exam I answered on 3 of the biochemistry question only by using this mnemonic. The question weren’t difficult, but because of the stress and length of the exam, you got tired and takes time to manage even easy questions. Well, that’s why we have medical mnemonics to boost up our performance in difficult moments.
Arrhythmia treatment options
This is a guest post from vanumu . You can also find and follow him on twitter @vanstar7. I am a huge fan of his work.
Essential concept lies with recognizing if the patient is stable or unstable.
UNSTABLE = “Chest pain, Shortness of Breath, Hypotension, Confusion means you’re not getting enough perfusion” (Dr.Fisher) = SHOCK!
For stable patients, you can consider medical management.
Here is the mnemonic I use to remember the drugs for each type of arrhythmia. Click on the image for a larger view. Continue reading