ward shadowing vocabulary list

• vasculopath: patient with significant vascular disease or disease risk factors.
• heparin bridge: when patients on warfarin (oral anti-coagulant) need to go into surgery, the warfarin is stopped due to bleeding risk, but heparin (IV anti-coagulant) is given instead to prevent blood clots.
• capsule capture: way to record images of the digestive tract for use in medicine, in which the patient swallows a small capsule that contains a tiny camera.
• TEE: trans-esophageal echocardiogram.
• pseudomonas: gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria recognized as an emerging opportunistic pathogen of clinical relevance.
• po: per os, by mouth.
• lisinopril: ACE-inhibitor used to treat hypertension, congestive heart failure, heart attacks, and renal and retinal complications of diabetes. Increases serum creatinine due to unknown impact on kidney function.
• stimulant vs. standing laxative: a standing laxative softens the stool or otherwise makes it easier for the stool to move through the intestine more easily. A stimulant laxative causes the intestine the contract, increasing the movement of the bowel.
• DPOA: durable power of attorney
• linezolid: antibiotic alternative to vancomycin, "reserve antibiotic." Expensive, but can be taken orally without adjustment in dosage.
• TIPS: transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt
• ERCP: endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Used for both diagnostic (e.g., diagnosing conditions of the bile duct) and therapeutic reasons (e.g., removal of gallstones). Invasive. Main risk is pancreatitis.
• MRCP: magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography. Used to visualize biliary and pancreatic ducts; however, cannot remove stones if seen at the time. Non-invasive.
• HIDA: hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid scan. Nuclear imaging procedure to evaluate the health and function of the gallbladder.
• cholangitis: infection of the common bile duct or biliary tract.
• cholecystitis: inflammation of the gall bladder.
• C. diff: Clostridium difficile, gram-positive bacteria that causes severe diarrhea and other intestinal disease when competing bacteria in the gut flora have been wiped out by antibiotics.