There are many caveats to routinely testing hospitalised patients asymptomatic of thyroid pathology – namely those acutely unwell, or recent contrast loading (i.e. almost all of them).
Fantastic bacteria and when to culture them
Blood cultures are often associated with a temperature above 38°C. This week, we look into the veracity of the underlying assumptions, and highlight the factors most associated with diagnostic blood cultures.
Diagnosis: It’s all about that Bayes
Tests aren’t perfect, and Bayes’ Theorem explains why. A test result’s accuracy depends on how common the disease is before testing. Even a “positive” test can be misleading if the disease is rare. Understanding this helps us avoid overdiagnosis and make smarter clinical decisions.
Magnesium to slow a heart going fast AF
Don’t use IV magnesium as the sole agent for rate or rhythm control.
A blood gas a day keeps the pseudohyponatraemia away
Consider doing a blood gas in hyponatremic patients, and think about pseudohyponatraemia if there’s a difference between formal electrolyte and VBG/ABG sodium. Adjust Na values for glucose. If they had a TURP recently, they’d tell you, it looks painful.
