Category: COPD - BUNCHING

Signs for High Index of Suspicion of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

1. 1) Shortness of breath on exertion.
2. 2) More than a 10 pack/year history of cigarette smoking.
3. 3) More than 40 years old.

Category: COPD - ACRONYM

Category: Pulmonary Function - FLOWCHART

FVC, a Tool You Can Use.

• Formulating a clinical impression of a Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) maneuver is a high level task. It does not lend itself to “simplification”.
• The intention of the algorithm below is to provide an organized method to review and use the FVC and to assist the practitioner in determining appropriate care. (Not formulate a comprehensive interpretation)
  
  Click on the algorithm image to enlarge.

Category: Pulmonary Function - FLOWCHART

Category: Physical Assessment - ACRONYM

The 5 W's, Causes of Post-Op Fever

• Wind: the lungs (the most common in the 1st 48 hrs)
• Wound: infection at the surgical site
• Water: phlebitis at intravenous access
• Walk: deep venous thrombosis
• Whiz: urinary tract infection

The 5 most frequent to Worry about.

Category: Inhaled Medication - RHYMES & SONGS

Category: Smart phone and PDA - TECHNOLOGY

The two healthcare resources I find myself using most consistently on my ectopic brain (a.k.a. my PDA /Smart phone) are ePocrates and MedCalc. My earlier recommendations of these excellent portable memory expanders on the Palm and Windows Mobile operating systems still stands, with this addition.
If you are an iPhone or iTouch user the excellent characteristics of these programs shine on Apples portable systems.

http://med-ia.ch/medcalc/iphone_description.html
http://www.epocrates.com/index.html