Medicine News: Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 117

jueves, 17 de septiembre de 2015

Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 117

Just when you thought your brain could unwind on a Friday, you realise that it would rather be challenged with some good old fashioned medical trivia…introducing Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 117

Question 1

You have a patient with the Thinker’s Sign (or Dahl’s sign), what condition is your patient likely to have?

+ Reveal the Funtabulous Answer

Thigh hyperpigmentation
This sign was described in 1963.
Hyperpigmentation on the thighs is caused by repeated pressure from sitting in a tripod position (similar to Rodin’s Thinker).
Most patients suffer from COPD [Reference]

Question 2

This is a Curschmann’s spiral – with what condition is it commonly associated?

+ Reveal the Funtabulous Answer

Asthma
Spiralled mucous plugs containing shed epithelium
Most often seen in the sputum of asthmatics (but can also be in several lung diseases). [Reference]

Question 3

What was known as the “Vietnamese time bomb“?

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Infection with Burholderia pseudomallei
Vietnam war veterans often developed this, up to a decade after returning from Vietnam.
It is hypothesised the helicopter blades would spin the bacteria into the air as the soldiers were embarking or disembarking.
B.pseudomallei is a slow growing bacteria and presenting with a broad spectrum of symptoms from dermal rashes to liver abscess. Mortality can be as high as 40%. [Reference]

Question 4

While at the gym, a patient in her 30’s suffers an episode of visual loss, but is relatively undistressed by it. What condition may she suffer from and name the phenomenon?

+ Reveal the Funtabulous Answer

Uhthoff’s phenomenon
This episode may be an exacerbation of multiple sclerosis
MS symptoms exacerbated by heat and exercise (e.g. exercise increasing body temp) is known as Uhthoff’s phenomenon. [Reference]

Question 5

We have all been involved with the palliative care of a patient at some point, but what are the origins of the word ‘palliative‘ and when did hospices first come into existence?

+ Reveal the Funtabulous Answer

The term is derived from the Latin word palliare – which means “to cloak“.
The first hospices (in the current/”medical” sense) were established in 1967, although hospice-like facilities have existed since the fourteenth century. [Reference]