The cardinal features of acute spinal cord compression are relatively symmetric paralysis of the limbs, urinary retention or incontinence, and a circumferential boundary below which there is loss of sensation, referred to as the “sensory level”.
Continue reading “Clinical Syndromes of Acute Spinal Cord Compression”
Social anxiety is the fear of interaction with other people that brings on self-consciousness, feelings of being negatively judged and evaluated, and, as a result, leads to avoidance.
Continue reading “Diagnostic Criteria for Social Anxiety Disorder”
PVD can be categorized using the Fontaine or Rutherford classification system. Each system grades PVD from no symptoms to major tissue loss and can be used at diagnosis and to evaluate the progression or improvement of symptoms.
Continue reading “Classification of Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD)”
In 1968, Wilson and Jungner published 10 “principles” for evaluating screening programs, criteria widely used since then.
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Grading of hepatic encephalopathy categorizes it in clinical stages of stepwise worsening. The description of each grade varies somewhat in the literature, but differences between adjacent grades are clear enough to be helpful in clinical practice, although neurologic descriptors are sparse. One study showed that for patients who become comatose, the Full Outline of Unresponsiveness (FOUR) score is more discriminating than the West Haven grading system because it includes brain-stem and respiration assessment, which are not further differentiated in the West Haven system.
Continue reading “Criteria for Grading Hepatic Encephalopathy”
Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) accounts for 2%-12% of all cases of diabetes. Patients are typically diagnosed after 35 years of age and are often misdiagnosed as type II Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Glycemic control is initially achieved with sulfonylureas, but patients eventually become insulin dependent more rapidly than with type II DM patients.
Continue reading “Diagnostic Criteria of Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA)”
Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease of unknown cause that is characterized pathologically by an inflammatory and fibrotic process centered on the epithelium, leading to diffuse biliary stenosis and increased wall thickness throughout the intra- and extra-hepatic biliary trees.
Continue reading “Diagnostic Criteria of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC)”
Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a Gram-positive, sporeforming bacterium usually spread by the fecal-oral route. It is non-invasive and produces toxins A and B that cause disease, ranging from asymptomatic carriage, to mild diarrhea, to colitis, or pseudomembranous colitis. CDI is defined as the acute onset of diarrhea with documented toxigenic C. difficile or its toxin and no other documented cause for diarrhea.
Continue reading “Definitions of Clostridium difficile Infection (CDI)”
The Ross Heart Failure Classification was developed to provide a global assessment of heart failure severity in infants, and has subsequently been modified to apply to all pediatric ages. The modified Ross Classification incorporates feeding difficulties, growth problems, and symptoms of exercise intolerance into a numeric score comparable with the NYHA classification for adults.
Continue reading “NYHA and Modified Ross Heart Failure Classification for Children”
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