Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is the most common acquired heart disease in children in many countries of the world, especially in developing countries. The global burden of disease caused by rheumatic fever currently falls disproportionately on children living in the developing world, especially where poverty is widespread. RHD is a chronic heart condition caused by rheumatic fever that can be prevented and controlled. Rheumatic fever is caused by a preceding group A streptococcal (strep) infection. Treating strep throat with antibiotics can prevent rheumatic fever. Moreover, regular antibiotics (usually monthly injections) can prevent patients with rheumatic fever from contracting further strep infections and causing progression of valve damage. Consequences of rheumatic heart disease Acute rheumatic fever primarily affects the heart, joints and central nervous system. The major importance of acute rheumatic fever is its ability to cause fibrosis of heart valves, leading to crippling valvular heart disease, heart failure and death. The decline of rheumatic fever in developed countries is believed to be the result of improved living conditions and availability of antibiotics for treatment of group A streptococcal infection. Overcrowding, poor housing conditions, undernutrition and lack of access to healthcare play a role in the persistence of this disease in developing countries.

Although the Apgar score was developed in 1952 by an anesthesiologist named Virginia Apgar, you also might hear it referred to as an acronym for: Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration. The Apgar test is usually given to a baby twice: once at 1 minute after birth, and again at 5 minutes after birth.

Nephritis and Nephrotic Syndrome

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Email this page to a friend Print Facebook Twitter Google+ Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung disease. Having COPD makes it hard to breathe. There are two main forms of COPD: Chronic bronchitis, which involves a long-term cough with mucus Emphysema, which involves damage to the lungs over time Most people with COPD have a combination of both conditions. Causes Smoking is the main cause of COPD. The more a person smokes, the more likely that person will develop COPD. But some people smoke for years and never get COPD. In rare cases, nonsmokers who lack a protein called alpha-1 antitrypsin can develop emphysema. Emphysema Other risk factors for COPD are: Exposure to certain gases or fumes in the workplace Exposure to heavy amounts of secondhand smoke and pollution Frequent use of a cooking fire without proper ventilation Symptoms Symptoms may include any of the following: Cough, with or without mucous Fatigue Many respiratory infections Shortness of breath (dyspnea) that gets worse with mild activity Trouble catching one's breath Wheezing Because the symptoms develop slowly, some people may not know that they have COPD.

Major signs and symptoms include enlargement of the liver and spleen (hepatosplenomegaly), a low number of red blood cells (anemia), easy bruising caused by a decrease in blood platelets (thrombocytopenia), lung disease, and bone abnormalities such as bone pain, fractures, and arthritis.

Diabetes insipidus (die-uh-BEE-teze in-SIP-uh-dus) is an uncommon disorder that causes an imbalance of water in the body. This imbalance leads to intense thirst even after drinking fluids (polydipsia), and excretion of large amounts of urine (polyuria). While the names diabetes insipidus and diabetes mellitus sound similar, they're not related. Diabetes mellitus — which can occur as type 1 or type 2 — is the more common form of diabetes. There's no cure for diabetes insipidus, but treatments are available to relieve your thirst and normalize your urine output.

When taking oral corticosteroids longer term, you may experience: Clouding of the lens in one or both eyes (cataracts) High blood sugar, which can trigger or worsen diabetes. Increased risk of infections. Thinning bones (osteoporosis) and fractures. Suppressed adrenal gland hormone production

Pediatric orthopedic surgeons at Columbia are using a new device with magnetic technology that avoids the need for multiple spine-lengthening surgeries to correct early-onset scoliosis, a severe curvature of the spine in young children. In April 2014, Michael Vitale, MD, the Ana Lucia Professor of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery at CUMC and 1995 graduate of P&S, performed the first procedure in the New York area, using the device to treat a 5-year-old boy. When braces and casts cannot control scoliosis in young children, surgeons turn to growing rods, which help correct the curve while allowing the spine to grow. When spinal maturity is near, the rods are removed and a spinal fusion can be performed. But during years of treatment with growing rods, patients must undergo surgery every six months to lengthen the rods to keep up with the patients’ growth. A patient may undergo eight to 10 procedures, which are costly and result in lost time for parents at work and children at school. The new device—MAGEC (MAGnetic Expansion Control) rods—contains a mechanism inside the growing rods that allows surgeons to lengthen the rods with a handheld external magnet, without surgery.

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Jennifer Lawton, M.D., is professor and chief of the Johns Hopkins Division of Cardiac Surgery, as well as director of the Cardiac Surgery Research Laboratory and program director of the cardiothoracic fellowship training program at Johns Hopkins. Her areas of expertise include valve surgery, including minimally invasive surgery, coronary artery bypass grafting on- and off-pump, all arterial revascularization, as well as surgery for aortic dissection and ascending aneurysm. For more information about Dr. Lawton visit http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org..../heart_vascular_inst

surgical procedure used to remove excess skin and fat from the abdomen and to tighten the muscles of the abdominal wall. Most tummy tuck patients are dealing with the effects of pregnancies and weight loss and find themselves with loose skin in spite of exercise and weight control. Each year, thousands of Americans undergo a tummy tuck to tone, firm and define the abdominal area.

Women who have untreated chlamydia might develop pelvic inflammatory disease, which can cause ectopic pregnancies, chronic pelvic pain and infertility. ... The antibiotics used to treat chlamydia are safe in pregnancy and are used in pregnant women for many other types of infections.

A growing number of patients having total knee replacement surgery are 55 or younger. Surgeons at Sunnybrook's Holland Centre perform more than 1,000 total knee replacements each year. Read more: http://sunnyview.sunnybrook.ca..../2011/11/snap-crackl

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Of the many factors that affect your compatibility with a man, one of the biggest (or smallest) is in his pants. As with humour, interests or habits, the wrong fit can leave you cold. Or traumatised. In a study of 1,661 penises, Dr Debby Herbenick, author of Sex Made Easy, found an almost nine-inch difference in erection size: from 1.6 inches to 10.2. And since absolutely nothing outside the package tells you what to expect with the package, you have to test compatibility the hard way. Sometimes you hit your jackpot, sometimes it's just fine, and sometimes he's the guy on either end of that erection spectrum. These writers have been there, so here's what they learned - and how you can deal (without the gasp reflex).

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Liddle syndrome is an inherited form of high blood pressure (hypertension). This condition is characterized by severe hypertension that begins unusually early in life, often in childhood, although some affected individuals are not diagnosed until adulthood. Some people with Liddle syndrome have no additional signs or symptoms, especially in childhood. Over time, however, untreated hypertension can lead to heart disease or stroke, which may be fatal.

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), formerly known as primary biliary cirrhosis, is a chronic liver disease resulting from progressive destruction of the bile ducts in the liver – called the intrahepatic bile ducts. Bile produced in your liver travels via these ducts to your small intestine where it aids in the digestion of fat and fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K). When the ducts are destroyed, bile builds up in the liver contributing to inflammation and scarring (fibrosis). Eventually this can lead to cirrhosis and its associated complications, as scar tissue replaces healthy liver tissue and liver function becomes increasingly impaired.

Reduction techniques can vary in terms of required force, time, equipment, and staff. [7] No single reduction method is successful in every instance; therefore, the clinician should be familiar with several reduction techniques. Techniques commonly used to reduce anterior shoulder dislocations include the following [35, 36, 37, 38, 39] : Stimson maneuver Scapular manipulation External rotation Milch technique Spaso technique Traction-countertraction

Distal Humerus Fractures of the Elbow. A distal humerus fracture is a break in the lower end of the upper arm bone (humerus), one of the three bones that come together to form the elbow joint. A fracture in this area can be very painful and make elbow motion difficult or impossible.