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To avoid pregnancy and STDs, always remember to use a condom every time you have sex — including oral, vaginal, or anal sex. Whenever oral sex is being performed on a girl, a dental dam should be used. A guy receiving oral sex should wear a latex condom — or, if he or his partner is allergic to latex, a polyurethane condom.
A liver abscess is a pus-filled mass inside the liver. Common causes are abdominal infections such as appendicitis or diverticulitis due to haematogenous spread through the portal vein. A pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) is a pocket of pus that forms in the liver in response to an infection or trauma. Pus is a fluid composed of white blood cells, dead cells, and bacteria that forms when your body fights off infection.Dec 11, 2015
Peripheral arterial disease (P.A.D.) occurs when plaque (plak) builds up in the arteries that carry blood to your head, organs, and limbs. Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, fibrous tissue, and other substances in the blood. When plaque builds up in arteries, the condition is called atherosclerosis (ATH-er-o-skler-O-sis). Over time, plaque can harden and narrow the arteries. This limits the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your organs and other parts of your body. P.A.D. usually affects the legs, but also can affect the arteries that carry blood from your heart to your head, arms, kidneys, and stomach. This article focuses on P.A.D. that affects blood flow to the legs.
The hepatitis E virus, responsible for major epidemics of viral hepatitis in subtropical and tropical countries, was cloned only 7 years ago.1 Hepatitis E was found to belong to the family of Caliciviridae, which includes the Norwalk virus—a common cause of gastroenteritis in humans—and consists of a single, plus-strand RNA genome of approximately 7.2 kb without an envelope (Fig. 1). The virus contains at least three open reading frames encoding viral proteins against which antibodies are made on exposure. These antibodies, especially those against the capsid protein derived from the second open reading frame2 and a protein of unknown function derived from the third open reading frame, are detected by currently available serologic assays. Retrospective studies on stored sera of past epidemics of viral hepatitis in Mexico, Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, and Borneo have revealed that all were caused by strains of hepatitis E. In addition, hepatitis E was found to be responsible for the hepatitis epidemic in the southern part of Xinjiang, China, in which 120,000 persons became infected between September 1986 and April 1988.3 Hepatitis E predominantly affects young adults (15 to 40 years old). The symptoms of hepatitis E are similar to those of hepatitis A. Frequently, a prodrome consisting of anorexia, nausea, low-grade fever, and right upper abdominal pain is present 3 to 7 days before jaundice develops. Aminotransferase levels peak (usually between 1,000 and 2,000 U/L) near the onset of symptoms; bilirubin levels (10 to 20 mg/dL) peak later. Jaundice usually resolves after 1 to 2 weeks. In about 10% of cases, the disease is fulminant—especially in pregnant women, among whom mortality rates as high as 20% due to hemorrhagic and thrombotic complications have been reported. No evidence has suggested that hepatitis E can cause chronic infection. Transmission is by the fecal-oral route, predominantly through fecally contaminated drinking water supplies. In addition, however, preliminary reports have suggested transmission of the hepatitis E virus through blood transfusions. Volunteer studies confirmed the presence of the virus in serum and feces before and during clinical disease.4 The virus is shed into feces approximately 1 week before symptoms develop. The incubation period varies from 2 to 9 weeks (mean duration, approximately 45 days). Until now, a few reports had described symptomatic hepatitis E acquired in Europe;5, 6 all patients with symptomatic hepatitis E in the United States were travelers returning from Mexico, Africa, or the Far East, in whom hepatitis E developed after their return home.7 In this issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings (pages 1133 to 1136), Kwo and associates describe a case of hepatitis E in a man who had not left the United States during the previous 10 years. Specific serologic tests for hepatitis E virus IgG (enzyme immunoassays and a fluorescent antibody blocking assay) and IgM8 (US strain-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with use of synthetic polypeptides deduced from the viral genome, as shown in Figure 1), developed at Abbott Laboratories (IgG and IgM) as well as at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (IgG), were used to prove that the patient indeed had acute hepatitis E. Researchers at Abbott Laboratories have prepared a report that describes most of the viral genome in this patient (Fig. I).8 Their results are interesting because this strain from the United States differs considerably from hepatitis E strains isolated in Mexico, Burma, Pakistan, or China. Furthermore, the sequence of the US strain is highly homologous (98% and 94% homology at the amino acid level to the second and third open reading frames, respectively) to a recently isolated hepatitis E strain from American swine.9 This finding suggests that, in the United States, hepatitis E is a zoonosis with the swine population as one of its hosts. This relationship would confirm earlier studies in Asia, where swine were also found to carry variants of the hepatitis E virus.10 Why are these two recent discoveries important for medicine in the United States? First, other sporadic, locally acquired cases of acute hepatitis may be caused by hepatitis E. Second, these back-to-back discoveries strongly suggest that a common natural host for hepatitis E is present in countries with more moderate climates. Because swine do not seem to experience any symptoms associated with infection and because symptoms in humans can be minor or absent, we now may also have an explanation for the 1 to 2% of positive hepatitis E serologic results in blood donors in the United States,11 Netherlands,12 and Italy,6 countries with large swine staples. Clearly, more research needs to be done to confirm this hypothesis. Third, in countries with more moderate climates, hepatitis E may often result in a subclinical infection. Is this variation in manifestation due to less virulent strains, and do sequence variations determine virulence? Fourth, swine may be used as an animal model for study of the disease as well as vaccine development.
Diabetic ketoacidosis is an acute complication of uncontrolled hyperglycaemia characterised by high anion gap metabolic acidosis, dehydration and other metabolic abnormalities. Upto half of patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus may have DKA. The incidence in T2DM is also rising. Precipitants include acute illness such as myocardial infarction, trauma and infection. Paitents of diabetic ketoacidosis may present with vomiting, pain abdomen and lethargy. Mental obtundation may also be present. Management of diabetic ketoacidosis revolves around administration of IV normal saline, insulin, replacement of potassium with frequent monitoring of sugars and electrolytes.
Gallstone ileus is an important, though infrequent, cause of mechanical bowel obstruction, affecting older adult patients who often have other significant medical conditions. It is caused by impaction of a gallstone in the ileum after being passed through a biliary-enteric fistula. The diagnosis is often delayed since symptoms may be intermittent and investigations fail to identify the cause of the obstruction. The mainstay of treatment is removal of the obstructing stone after resuscitating the patient. Gallstone ileus continues to be associated with relatively high rates of morbidity and mortality.
An egg cannot be fertilized when there are no sperm in the semen. The testicles continue to produce sperm, but the sperm are reabsorbed by the body. (This also happens to sperm that are not ejaculated after a while, regardless of whether you have had a vasectomy.) Sperm are made in the testicles. They pass through two tubes called the vasa deferentia to other glands and mix with seminal fluids to form semen. Vasectomy blocks each vas deferens and keeps sperm out of the seminal fluid. The sperm are absorbed by the body instead of being ejaculated.
Premature ejaculation occurs when a man ejaculates sooner during sexual intercourse than he or his partner would like. Premature ejaculation is a common sexual complaint. Estimates vary, but as many as 1 out of 3 men say they experience this problem at some time. As long as it happens infrequently, it's not cause for concern. However, you may meet the diagnostic criteria for premature ejaculation if you: Always or nearly always ejaculate within one minute of penetration Are unable to delay ejaculation during intercourse all or nearly all of the time Feel distressed and frustrated, and tend to avoid sexual intimacy as a result Both psychological and biological factors can play a role in premature ejaculation. Although many men feel embarrassed to talk about it, premature ejaculation is a common and treatable condition. Medications, counseling and sexual techniques that delay ejaculation — or a combination of these — can help improve sex for you and your partner.
A pneumothorax can be caused by a blunt or penetrating chest injury, certain medical procedures, or damage from underlying lung disease. Or it may occur for no obvious reason. Symptoms usually include sudden chest pain and shortness of breath. On some occasions, a collapsed lung can be a life-threatening event.
If you notice a patient beginning to fall, follow these steps to help lower them safely to floor. Always stay with the patient and call for additional help.
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