Medical Mnemonics

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Acute Pancreatitis is characterized by an inflammation of the pancreas that appears suddenly and lasts for days. The two main causes of pancreatitis in the US are alcohol intake and gallstones. The major causes of pancreatitis can be remembered by the popular mnemonic “I GET SMASHED”

I – Idiopathic

G – Gallstones

E – Ethanol

T – Trauma

S – Steroids

M – Mumps, malignancy (Pancreatic cancer)

A – Autoimmune

S – Scorpion sting

H – Hypercalcemia, Hypertriglyceridemia (Usually more than 1000mg/dL)

E – ERCP

D – Drugs

http://knowmedge.com/blog/medical-mnemonics-causes-of-pancreatitis-i-get-smashed/

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http://knowmedge.com/medical_mnemonics/Neurology_mnemonics/Normal-Pressure-Hydrocephalus-Symptoms/469

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"Goldmark" is the new "Mudpiles". Causes of Anion Gap Metabolic Acidosis can be remembered by the mnemonic "Goldmark".  http://knowmedge.com/medical_mnemonics/Medicine_mnemonics/Anion-Gap-Metabolic-Acidosis:-Causes/957

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It’s Medical Mnemonics Monday!

Renal Papillary Necrosis is a form of nephropathy characterized by coagulative necrosis of the renal medullary pyramids and papillae.  Causes of Papillary Necrosis can be remembered by the mnemonic “POSTCARDS”.

Pyelonephritis

Obstruction of the urogenital tract

Sickle cell disease

Tuberculosis

Chronic liver disease,

Analgesia/alcohol abuse,

Renal transplant rejection

Diabetes mellitus

Systemic vasculitis

Check out the list of the previous Medical Mnemonics here.

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The classic mnemonic often used to remember the causes of anion gap metabolic acidosis is “MUDPILES”

M – Methanol

U – Uremia

D – Diabetic ketoacidosis

P – Propylene Glycol

I – Isoniazid

L – Lactic Acidosis

E – Ethylene Glycol

S – Salicylates

More recently a new mnemonic has been suggested to update new our understanding of anion-gap generating acids. The updated mnemonic “GOLD MARK” was proposed in a 2008 article in The Lancet.

G – Glycols (ethylene glycol and propylene glycol)

O – Oxoproline

L – L-Lactate

D – D-Lactate

M – Methanol

A – Aspirin

R – Renal Failure

K – Ketoacidosis

As medicine evolves, so do our Mnemonics. This is the fifth medical mnemonic in our series of Monday Mnemonics.

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Medical Mnemonics: Features of Horner's Syndrome

Medical Mnemonics: Features of Horner’s Syndrome – “SAMPLE”

  Medical Mnemonics

Horner’s Syndrome (Oculosympathetic paresis) is a rare neurologic condition whose symptoms and signs include:

Ptosis (drooping eyelid)

Anhidrosis (inability to sweat).

Miosis (pupil constriction)

Horner’s syndrome can be caused by any set of sympathetic nerve fiber injuries. Horner’s syndrome is generally classified into Central and Peripheral.

Central: Sympathetic nerves start in the brain and then travel down to the spinal cord and into the chest.

Peripheral: Sympathetic nerves start from the chest to the neck, arteries, head, and into the eyes.

Another feature of Horner’s syndrome is loss of ciliospinal reflex (pupil dilates when pressure / pain applied to neck or face. Patients with Horner’s syndrome also experience Enophthalmos (posterior displacement of the eyeball). These features can all be remembered by the mnemonic “SAMPLE”

S: Sympathetic Nerve Fiber Injury

A: Anhidrosis

M: Miosis

P: Ptosis

L: Loss of ciliospinal reflex

E: Enophthalmos

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Medical Mnemonic for Kawasaki Disease – “CREAM”

  Kawasaki disease (mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome) is a rare childhood disease that causes inflammation in the walls of small-sized and medium sized arteries. It is most often seen in children under the age of 5 of Asian descent (primarily Japanese of Korean). It is somewhat more common in boys than girls.

  There is no known cause for this disease and it is not contagious.

  There is no single test for Kawasaki disease and in order to diagnose it, you must look for symptoms. The symptoms and criteria for diagnosis can be remembered by the mnemonic “CREAM”. The criteria defined for diagnosis is that the child must have fever for greater than 5 days and must show four of the following five symptoms.

C: Conjunctivitis (non-exudative)

R: Rash (polymorphous non-vesicular)

E: Edema (or erythema of hands or feet)

A: Adenopathy (cervical, often unilateral)

M: Mucosal involvement (erythema or fissures or crusting)

This is the fourth in our series of Medical Mnemonics Monday posts. You can all previous and futuremedical mnemonics here.

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Medical Mnemonics: Internal Medicine Board Review – Hypersensitivity Recations

  There are four types of hypersensitivity reactions.

Type I is IgE-mediated and occurs very quickly after exposure. It is associated with allergens such as bee stings, peanuts, and certain medications, to name a few. This can lead to a life-threatening condition called anaphylaxis.

Type II hypersensitivity reactions are cytotoxic/antibody-mediated. Some examples in this category are hemolytic reactions, goodpasture syndrome and hyperacute graft rejection.

Type III is known as immune complex/IgG/IgM mediated and includes certain diagnoses like hypersensitivity pneumonitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, polyarteritis nodosa and serum sickness.

Type IV is known as delayed or cell-mediated hypersensitivity reaction. Examples include chronic graft rejections, purified protein derivative (PPD), latex, nickel and poison ivy.

  A quick mnemonic to use to remember these is ACID:

Type I – Allergic

Type II – Cytotoxic

Type III – Immune complex deposition

Type IV – Delayed

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Rheumatic fever occurs after a streptococcal infection (usually caused by Group A Beta-Hemolytic Strep (GABHS)). It is an inflammatory condition that affects the joints, skin, heart and brain. Major criteria are referred to as Jones criteria and can be remembered by the mnemonic of the same name.

J – Joint involvement which is usually migratory and inflammatory joint involvement that starts in the lower joints and ascends to upper joints

O – (“O” Looks like heart shape) – indicating that patients can develop myocarditis or inflammation of the heart

N – Nodules that are subcutaneous

E – Erythema marginatum which is a rash of ring-like lesions that can start in the trunk or arms. When joined with other rings, it can create a snake-like appearance

S – Sydenham chorea is a late feature which is characterized by jerky, uncontrollable, and purposeless movements resembling twitches

Minor criteria include

C – CRP Increased

A – Arthralgia

F – Fever

E – Elevated ESR

P – Prolonged PR Interval

A – Anamesis

L – Leukocytosis

Diagnosis of rheumatic fever is made after a strep infection (indicated by either throat cultures growing GABHS OR elevated anti-streptolysin O titers in the blood) and:

Two major criteria OR

One major criterion and two minor criteria

Mnemonics by themselves are not the answer to remembering everything. However, if you know the basics and underlying issues, then a mnemonic can serve to help you recall the exam details that can easily get lost.

This is the first in our series of Medical Mnemonics Monday posts. You can all previous and future medical mnemonics here.

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Medical Mnemonic: “Wacky, Wobbly, Wet”

  Patients who present with the triad of urinary incontinence, wide-based gait and dementia are likely to have normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). Symptoms for these patients are often remembered by the mnemonic “wacky, wobbly, and wet.”

Wacky: Dementia and mental impairment

Wobbly: Wide based gait (Difficulty walking)

Wet: Urinary Incontinence

  NPH is a condition where excess cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has slowly built up in the ventricles. Patients with NPH are generally older (over the age of 60). CT or MRI of the brain would reveal dilated ventricles without dilatation of sulci.

  This is the second in our series of Medical Mnemonics Monday posts. You can all previous and future medical mnemonics here.