I once told my girlfriend that she had a passion for databases. Not the most romantic thing that I have ever said. I was also wrong. While Allison has worked with databases she does not contain in her heart the love that some feel for the power inherent in organizing and sorting data.
Dosing terminology used by doctors:
once - 1 time/day
twice - 2 times/day
bid - 2 times/day
tid - 3 times/day
qid - 4 times/day
qd - 1 time/day (every day)
qh - 24 times/day (every hour)
qoh - 12 times/day (every other hour)
od - 1 time/day
hs- 1 time/day at bedtime
A joke at every end:
What did the maxipad say to the fart:
"You are the wind beneath my wings."
8.27.2007
The Third Body
Today's lesson is about the body and what doctors look for in all that blood that you give.
Tests looking at levels of the following are part of the metabolic panel and provide information about the patients liver:
Alkaline phosphatase: An enzyme that removes the phosphate group from various proteins in your body. It is ubiquitous but mostly concentrated in liver, bile duct, kidney and placenta. Abnormal levels can indicate a disease state.
Gamma glutamyl transferase: Transfers amino acids across a cellular membrane and is also involved in glutathione metabolism. Found in liver, bile duct and kidney. Deviation from the norm indicates an abnormality in the liver. By the way glutathione is a nonessential (can be synthesized in the body from other substrates) nutrient that is used by the liver.
AST and ALT: Aspartate and Alanine Transaminase. Both enzymes are used by the liver to transfer amino acids.
Metal poisoning can cause a variety of condition. The following metals are usually tested when abnormally high levels of metals are suspected.
Hg - mercury, Ti - titanium, Cd - cadmium, Fe - iron. If you have a high level of any of these metals, you can use a chelating agent to bind the atoms and flush them out of your body. Tetracycline antibiotics are commonly used to bind metals. Another common chelating agent is EDTA (Ethylene diamine tetracetic acid).
A joke at every end:
A pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel on his crotch.
He sits down and orders a beer.
The bartender pours the beer and asks
"Pirate, what's going on, why is there a wheel on your crotch?"
The pirate says
"Arrrrr, it's driving me nuts."
Tests looking at levels of the following are part of the metabolic panel and provide information about the patients liver:
Alkaline phosphatase: An enzyme that removes the phosphate group from various proteins in your body. It is ubiquitous but mostly concentrated in liver, bile duct, kidney and placenta. Abnormal levels can indicate a disease state.
Gamma glutamyl transferase: Transfers amino acids across a cellular membrane and is also involved in glutathione metabolism. Found in liver, bile duct and kidney. Deviation from the norm indicates an abnormality in the liver. By the way glutathione is a nonessential (can be synthesized in the body from other substrates) nutrient that is used by the liver.
AST and ALT: Aspartate and Alanine Transaminase. Both enzymes are used by the liver to transfer amino acids.
Metal poisoning can cause a variety of condition. The following metals are usually tested when abnormally high levels of metals are suspected.
Hg - mercury, Ti - titanium, Cd - cadmium, Fe - iron. If you have a high level of any of these metals, you can use a chelating agent to bind the atoms and flush them out of your body. Tetracycline antibiotics are commonly used to bind metals. Another common chelating agent is EDTA (Ethylene diamine tetracetic acid).
A joke at every end:
A pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel on his crotch.
He sits down and orders a beer.
The bartender pours the beer and asks
"Pirate, what's going on, why is there a wheel on your crotch?"
The pirate says
"Arrrrr, it's driving me nuts."
8.26.2007
The First
I would like to welcome you to this reading experience. There are many interesting moments occurring all around us, and I hope to capture some of them. This is a selfish blog, I want to note these facts for my own knowledge. Perhaps by typing them here, I will remember them up there.
The date rape drug is back in business. Xyrem, sodium oxybate , is one of the most effective sleep medications for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (currently in phase III trial). The medical practitioner has to discuss its dirty association with creepy old men before prescribing.
I was appalled by an article in the Wall Street Journal on August 20th describing the decrease in Medicare coverage for “reasonably preventable conditions acquired" during a hospital visit. Medicare will no longer provide compensation for the corrective surgery required when a sponge is left in a patient's stomach. The idea being that the hospital should not commit those errors in the first place. Other mistakes include, but are not limited to, post surgical infection and patient falls. I applaud the government's commitment to increased hospital standards, but it is absurd for this to come at the mistreated patient's expense. Imagine waking up with an avoidable infection or injury and hear that your insurance will not help you because they are protesting the hospital's ineptitude. On second thought, don't.
A joke at every end:
Q: What's the difference between an asshole and a rectum?
A: You can hug an asshole.
(Hug friend while making joke)
The date rape drug is back in business. Xyrem, sodium oxybate , is one of the most effective sleep medications for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (currently in phase III trial). The medical practitioner has to discuss its dirty association with creepy old men before prescribing.
I was appalled by an article in the Wall Street Journal on August 20th describing the decrease in Medicare coverage for “reasonably preventable conditions acquired" during a hospital visit. Medicare will no longer provide compensation for the corrective surgery required when a sponge is left in a patient's stomach. The idea being that the hospital should not commit those errors in the first place. Other mistakes include, but are not limited to, post surgical infection and patient falls. I applaud the government's commitment to increased hospital standards, but it is absurd for this to come at the mistreated patient's expense. Imagine waking up with an avoidable infection or injury and hear that your insurance will not help you because they are protesting the hospital's ineptitude. On second thought, don't.
A joke at every end:
Q: What's the difference between an asshole and a rectum?
A: You can hug an asshole.
(Hug friend while making joke)
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