I was asked this question on Ask a Doctor that How Clinicians Judge a Test. Sensitivity and specificity are characteristics of diagnostic tests. They inform the provider how the test will behave among people with or without disease. The sensitivity of a test is a measure of how often the test will be positive when testing […]
Shaping a differential diagnosis is a process of categorizing the probabilities of various diseases associated with the patient history and exam. The probability that a patient has the disease before any diagnostic testing is done is known as the prior probability of disease. Diagnostic testing increases or decreases the likelihood that a person has the
To make informed, evidence-based decisions, providers need to have an understanding of several statistical concepts. The clinical decision making process begins by assessing information by means of a history and physical examination framed within an understanding of the relative probabilities of disease states. The next step is to determine the likelihood that the patient has
Measures of association are means of estimating the strength of the relationship between observed outcomes and factors that may produce the outcome. Common measures of association are the odds ratio, relative risk, absolute risk reduction, and number needed to treat. Odds ratios are used in studies in which the incidence (or true risk) of disease
Absolute risk reduction and How Clinicians know Whether their Treatments Will Work Read More »
Hydroxyethyl starch also called HES or Hetastarch is a complex mixture of ethoxylated amylopectin of various molecular sizes; average MW 4.5 lac (range 10,000 to 1 million). The colloidal properties of 6% HES approximate those of human albumin. Plasma volume expands slightly in excess of the volume infused. This happens as extra vascular fluid is
Degraded gelatin polymer or Polygeline is a polypeptide with average MW 30,000 which exerts oncotic pressure similar to albumin and is not that antigenic. www.copy-swiss.me Hypersensitivity reactions are rare with Polygeline, but should watched for. It is a colloid, which is a type of fluid heavier than the commonly used fluids that are called crystalloids.
Lovenox is an anticoagulant commonly in use. It is the commercial name for Enoxaparin and is produced by Sanofi-Aventis. Lovenox is treatment of deep venous thrombosis ( DVT) and Pulmonary embolism. It is recently been prescribed tretment as well as prevention of acute coronary syndromes like unstable angina. Lovenox is a low molecular weight heparin used to prevent blood
Anxiety is a common symptom that many feel on certain occasions like facing an exam or addressing a speech or even visiting the doctor or getting a procedure being done. Drugs that decrease anxiety are called as anxiolytic medications. They are commonly prescribed by doctors for a variety of problems like insomnia, panic attacks and
Amiodarone is a complex antiarrhythmic agent (predominantly class III) that shares at least some of the properties of each of the other three Vaughn-Williams classes of antiarrhythmics. Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. The mainstay of therapy is rate control, with beta-blockers being the first-line agent. However, frequently
Agents that can be considered as Amiodarone alternatives for the treatment of atrial fibrillation depend upon the patient’s cardiac history, as individuals with reduced left ventricular systolic function are especially prone to the proarrhythmic effects of certain antiarrhythmic agents. Some commonly used Amiodarone alternatives include ibutilide, dofetilide, and sotalol. Strong consideration should be made for
