A pneumothorax is an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and chest wall. Although this condition commonly occurs in adults, it can also present as complication in neonates requiring assisted ventilation and has high morbidity and mortality. Chest tube placement and needle drainage are some common approaches in management. A late preterm infant born at 35+2 weeks of gestation was admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for the management of respiratory distress. He was kept on mechanical Continuous Positive Airway Pressure owing to worsening respiratory distress. Chest X-ray revealed pneumothorax that was successfully managed with venous catheter drainage on second intercostal space with underwater seal. He was discharge on 10th day of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit admission with stable vitals and normal breathing pattern.
Scrub typhus is an endemic disease caused by the bites of infected chiggers (larval mites) harboring causative bacteria Orientia tsutsugamushi. Acute pancreatitis is a rare but occasionally fatal complication of scrub typhus infection caused by vascular and perivascular inflammation of the pancreas. A 34-year-old female presented with severe epigastric pain and multiple episodes of vomiting. Extensive evaluation of the patient revealed acute pancreatitis secondary to scrub typhus. The patient also had septic shock and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. The patient was mechanically ventilated and treated with doxycycline, and pancreatitis was managed conservatively.
Macrophage activation syndrome is a rare but a life threatening condition commonly associated with Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. Its clinical presentation includes fever, hepatosplenomegaly, hypertriglyceridemia, hypofibrinogenemia, hyperferritinemia and impaired liver enzymes. The symptoms are alarming yet non-specific and often lead to a delayed diagnosis. A 12 year male presented with a history of intermittent fever and was started on antibiotics but failed to respond after several days of hospital stay. After a series of investigations to rule out multiple diagnoses he was diagnosed as a case of Macrophage Activation Syndrome secondary to Systemic onset Juvenile Arthritis and was treated with steroids.
Esophageal actinomycosis is a rare occurrence that presents a diagnostic challenge due to its vague clinical picture. The common symptoms include dysphagia, odynophagia and epigastric pain. These symptoms, although alarming, are usually non-specific. In this report, we describe an immunocompetent 38-year-old woman who presented with dysphagia and burning chest pain. Her initial examination and investigations suggested carcinoma of the oesophagus. On further evaluation and histopathology examination, she was diagnosed with esophageal actinomycosis and managed with antibiotics and symptomatic relief. She had significant improvement on follow up examination. The diagnosis of this condition in an immunocompetent patient can be confusing and requires a high degree of suspicion.
Introduction: Empathy is the cornerstone of the doctor-patient relationship and a crucial quality associated with better patient compliance and clinical outcomes. This study aims to assess the level of empathy and its association with the level of stress in 3rd and 4th year medical students Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Kathmandu Medical College after taking ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee and informed written consent from all the participants. The respondents completed a structured questionnaire including demographic profile, Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Student Version, and Perceived Stress Scale. Data were entered and analyzed in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20. Results: A total of 255 questionnaires were obtained with a response rate of 85.2%. The mean empathy score was 101.79 (SD = 11.26) and the mean perceived stress score was 18.55(SD = 5.56). There was a statistically significant negative correlation between empathy and stress (p-value <0.01) and similar negative correlations were seen in sub-group analysis. Female students had higher empathy scores compared to their male counterparts (p-value <0.01). Fourth-year students reported lower empathy scores than third-year students (p-value <0.05). Conclusion: Stress was found to be a significant determinant of empathy among medical students. Medical educators must be aware of this and should try to incorporate means to alleviate stress in medical education. Furthermore, effective stress management techniques to preserve empathy in medical students with a view to improve clinical competency and achieve optimum patient care needs to be studied.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.