MEDICAL FACTOIDS
From Standard of Care
Ganglion cysts most common benign tumor of the hand, accounting for 60-70% of all hand nodules.
Infections of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt can occur in up to 27% of patients, and may be associated with cognitive impairments and other neurologic problems, and rarely death.
Intravenous immune globulins a solution of human plasma derived immunoglobulin containing extensive range of immune antibodies that may protect against human pathogens or antigens.
Courvosier's sign is that of common bile duct obstruction in the presence of painless jaundice, with a palpable gallbladder highly suggestive of a malignant obstruction.
Urolithiasis prevalence in approximately 2-3% of general population.
Triglyceride elevations in women are more significant than in men, as a cause of atherosclerosis.
Parvovirus 19 causes transient aplastic crisis, hydrops fetalis, bone marrow suppression in immunocompromised hosts, purpuric vasculitis and both acute and chronic arthropathy in adults.
Nocturnal dialysis enables patients to undergo hemodialysis seven nights per week while sleeping and provides better clearance of uremic toxins than conventional hemodialysis.
Nosocomial infections affect approximately 10% of hospitalized patients.
Influenza Type A and B viruses express hemagglutinin (HA), and neuraminidase (NA) surface antigens.
Resistant hypertension is defined as the inability to control office blood pressure despite optimal therapy with at least 3 antihypertensive drugs at full dosages.
Chromagranin A is a useful marker for following the course of illness in carcinoid and neuroendocrine tumors.
Prion protein is normally present in neurons and diseases occur when prion protein undergoes changes that confer resistance to proteases.
Rotator cuff tear is the most common clinical problem of the shoulder.
Serum ferritin is the most common used estimate of body iron stores and reflects only 1% of the total iron storage pool.
IL-6 augments cell growth, inhibits apoptosis, and enhances drug resistance inmultiple myeloma.
The Babinski reflex is normal in younger children, but abnormal after the age of 2.
Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension occurs in 2-4% of patients after acute pulmonary embolism.
20% of ischemic strokes involve the posterior vertebrobasilar circulation.
B12 deficiency can begin as early as 1 year after total gastrectomy.
6-8% of patients of patients with unstable angina have a nonfatal myocardial infarction or die within the first year after diagnosis.
Megakaryocytes are the largest hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow.
Approximately 500cc of CSF made daily.
Endemic mycoses most commonly cause pulmonary infection following inhalation of infectious material.
Annual mortality of congestive heart failure 10-11%.
Spina bifida is the most common of congenital anomalies of the CNS that is compatible with life.
Lactic acidosis is the most severe adverse affect of metformin and is associated with older age, cardiac disease, the compensated congestive heart failure, renal insufficiency, chronic pulmonary disease, and hypoperfusion.
Untreated methanol poisonings associated with a 28% death rate.
Scabies associated with generalized itching, which is particularly more intense at night.
A 5.1 kg loss in body mass over a 10-year period decreases the odds of developing knee osteoarthritis by over 50%.
Chromosomal abnormalities occur in 1 in 160 live births.
The aim of cancer chemotherapy is to induce apoptosis by damaging DNA.
The spine is the most common site for bone metastases.
Coronary artery restenosis after stent placement may be as high as 50% in small coronary arteries suggesting an inverse relationship between vessel size and restenosis.
Parvovirus B19 is a single stranded DNA virus that causes erythema infectiosum (fifth disease).
Fetal deaths in blacks is approximately twice that of whites.
Annual mortality of congestive heart failure is 10-11%.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is the most common focal peripheral neuropathy, secondary to compression of the median nerve at the wrist.
Coronary artery calcification - a marker of coronary atherosclerosis and can be used to predict cardiovascular disease events.
Cafe au lait spots are usually the earliest manifestations of neurofibromatosis.
Fondaparinux (Arixtra) a synthetic antithrombotic agent with specific anti-factor Xa activity.
Rasburicase can reduce serum uric acid levels within 4 hours.
Adult male circumcision reduces the acquisition of HIV by 50-60%.
Epidural steroid injection studies have revealed that at 24 hours postinjection, at 3-6 months, or 1 year later have no impact on day to day function, need for surgery, or long term control of pain.
Ovarian cysts although benign and often self-limited can cause significant pelvic pain and menstrual dysfunction and result in 200,000 hospitalizations annually in the U.S.
Gastroesophageal cancers make up 80% of esophageal cancers.
Cyclosporine a calcineurin inhibitor, blocks the process of T-cell activation through the T-cell receptor.
The macula is the central posterior portion of the retina and has the densest concentration of photoreceptors of the retina and is responsible for high-resolution visual acuity.
The spleen has the largest accumulation of lymphoid tissue in the body.
Approximately 70% of women are colonized by vaginal yeasts and C albicans is identified in 98% of those cases.
Soy consumption inversely related to risk of breast cancer.
Blood glucose concentrations on admission, during a postoperative period, or the mean glucose concentration in the hospitalized patient are directly related to adverse outcomes including prolonged hospital stay, readmission and mortality.
Tricyclic antidepressant dose limiting effects include dry mouth, urine retention, sedation, weight gain, constipation and cardiac arrhythmias.
Pseudomyxoma peritonei a tumor of low biological aggressiveness and not associated with lymph node or liver metastases.
Anesthesia associated mortality 1 in 200,000 to 400,000 anesthesia procedures.
Polypectomy can reduce the incidence of colorectal cancer by 76%-90%.
Drug-eluting coronary stents used in the majority of intracoronary stenting procedures.
Proteomics refers to the analysis of all expressed proteins in a biological system.
Spinal stenosis refers to the narrowing of the spinal canal with encroachment of the neural structures by surrounding bone and soft tissue.
Physical inactivity estimated to account for 12% of all deaths.
Bone pain is the most common type of nociceptive cancer pain.
14-50% of the general population reports chronic neck pain.
Imatinib mesylate is a protein-tyrosine kinase inhibitor with specificity for c-kit platelet-derived growth factor, and Bcr/Abl pathways.
Increased consumption of caffeinated coffee associated with a reduced risk of cholecystectomy.
Adenocarcinomas account for approximately 30% of non-Small Cell Carcinoma of the Lung (NSCLC).
During the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle the breast may increase in size by up to 15%.
