Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Assessment of Head injuries in children

Perform a primary survey and ensure that the child’s airway, cervical spine, breathing and circulation are secure.

Rapidly assess the child’s mental state using the AVPU scale. Use firm supraorbital pressure as the painful stimulus.

* A Alert
* V Responds to voice
* P Responds to pain
----> Purposefully
----> Non-purposefully :
  •  Withdrawal/flexor response
  •  Extensor response
* U Unresponsive
Assess pupil size, equality and reactivity and look for other focal neurological signs.
Perform a secondary survey looking specifically at:

* Neck and cervical spine – deformity, tenderness, muscle spasm
* Head – scalp bruising, lacerations, swelling, tenderness, bruising behind the ear (Battles sign)
* Eyes – pupil size, equality and reactivity, fundoscopy
* Ears – blood behind the ear drum, CSF leak
* Nose – deformity, swelling, bleeding, CSF leak
* Mouth –dental trauma, soft tissue injuries
* Facial fractures
* Motor function – examine limbs for presence of reflexes and any lateralising weakness
* Perform a formal Glasgow Coma Score
* Consider the possibility of non-accidental injury during secondary survey especially in infants with head injury.
* Other injuries (see major trauma guidelines)

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Coronary Arterial Anatomy

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Photos for Battle's sign



Battle's sign, also called mastoid ecchymosis : consists of bruising over the mastoid process (just behind the auricle), as a result of extravasation of blood along the path of the posterior auricular artery.

It is an indication of fracture of the base of the posterior portion of the skull, and may suggest underlying brain trauma.

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Brain herniation Sites

Brain herniation refers to displacement of a portion of the brain from its normal position through openings in the inelastic dura secondary to.............

Read more.............>>

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OMPHALOCELE PIC



An omphalocele is a birth defect in which the infant's intestine or other abdominal organs stick out of the belly button (navel). In babies with an omphalocele, the intestines are covered only by a thin layer of tissue and can be easily seen.
An omphalocele is a type of hernia. Hernia means "rupture.”

Causes
An omphalocele develops as a baby grows inside the mother's womb. The muscles in the abdominal wall (umbilical ring) do not close properly. As a result, the intestine remains outside the umbilical cord.

Approximately 25 - 40% of infants with an omphalocele have other birth defects. They may include genetic problems (chromosomal abnormalities), congenital diaphragmatic hernia, and heart defects.an example is Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome.

Treatment

Omphaloceles are repaired with surgery, although not always immediately. A sac protects the abdominal contents and allows time for other more serious problems (such as heart defects) to be dealt with first, if necessary.

To fix an omphalocele, the sac is covered with a special man-made material, which is then stitched in place. Slowly, over time, the abdominal contents are pushed into the abdomen.

When the omphalocele can comfortably fit within the abdominal cavity, the man-made material is removed and the abdomen is closed.

Sometimes the omphalocele is so large that it cannot be placed back inside the infant's abdomen. The skin around the omphalocele grows and eventually covers the omphalocele. The abdominal muscles and skin can be repaired when the child is older to achieve a better cosmetic outcome.
Delivery Room Management of the Newborn omphalocele

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Medical students song :D :D

A very funny song for all medical and nursing students! Its about our lives...

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Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Companion to Rheumatology
Mosby; 1 edition (January 18, 2007) | ISBN: 0323044344 | 608 pages | PDF | 11 MB

"Rejoice! The third edition of this outstanding reference work is here...Rheumatology covers all the bases and is the single text one should own if there is a limit on shelf space and budget...A remarkable accomplishment, notable for its comprehensiveness as well as its wisdom." (JAMA)

The very latest concepts in treatment

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Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Many men with benign prostatic hyperplasia experience urinary problems related to the condition. As the prostate enlarges, the gland places increasing pressure on the urethra, often resulting in difficulty beginning or ending urination, an inability to completely empty the bladder, decreased urine flow, and frequent urination. In the most severe cases, complete blockage of the urethra occurs, which may lead to kidney damage.
From microscopyu.com

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia at 20x Magnification :
Part of the male reproductive system, the prostate gland produces and stores seminal fluids, releasing them into the urethra when semen emission occurs. The gland is located directly below the bladder and surrounds the upper part of the urethra. During adolescence the gland usually matures and reaches a size comparable to that of a walnut. The dimensions of the gland generally remain unchanged for several decades, but in most older men, the prostate begins to enlarge as the size of its cells increases, a process commonly referred to as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or hypertrophy. According to recent estimates, more than 50 percent of men between the ages of 50 and 60 experience benign prostatic hyperplasia, and over 90 percent of those 70 to 90 years old have developed the condition. Researchers do not yet completely understand the cause of this physiological change, but it is widely thought that elevated levels of the female sex hormone estradiol and increased manufacture of dihydrotestosterone, a derivative of the male sex hormone testosterone, contribute to the condition.

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia at 4x Magnification :
Men with only mild symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia may elect not to undergo any treatment or to simply take a wait-and-see attitude, visiting the doctor regularly for monitoring until signs suggest a more active approach is needed. For those who seek treatment, a number of options are available. For example, drugs such as alpha blockers and finasteride may be used alone or in conjunction with one another to relax prostatic smooth muscle and decrease the size of the prostate gland. Individuals that are not responsive to the typical medications, however, may require a more invasive form of treatment, such as balloon dilation of the urethra or any of several different surgical techniques, including transurethral incision of the prostate (TUIP), transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), or open prostatectomy. The various treatments for benign prostatic hyperplasia are associated with a number of risks and side effects, which can include serious conditions like incontinence and impotence.

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