Understanding the adrenergic receptors is fundamental to a solid grasp of adrenergic pharmacology!

This medication is used in emergencies to treat very serious allergic reactions to insect stings/bites, foods, drugs, or other substances. Epinephrine acts quickly to improve breathing, stimulate the heart, raise a dropping blood pressure, reverse hives, and reduce swelling of the face, lips, and throat.

Reconstruction of a shoulder separation or acromio-clavicular dislocation.

Includes discussion on asthma pathophysiology, signs and symptoms of asthma, diagnosis, triggers (GERD, post nasal drip, down feathers, etc.), flow volume loops, samter's triad, and more. This is video 1 of 2 on asthma and treatment.

Emphysema, also known as COPD, is a chronic condition with multiple factors that impact survival and life expectancy. Stages of COPD are generally defined using the GOLD criteria (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease). It has four levels or stages: mild - or Stage 1.

Not all conditions that lead to heart failure can be reversed, but treatments can improve the signs and symptoms of heart failure and help you live longer. Lifestyle changes — such as exercising, reducing salt in your diet, managing stress and losing weight — can improve your quality of life.

At first, grasping the needle is difficult because it will have a tendency to want to jump around. What can oftentimes help is to get hold of the thread with the left-hand forceps at a point 2 to 3 cm away from the needle. Dangle the needle until it just comes to rest on the surface. This will then allow you to use the angulated needle holder to grab the needle easily. Your needle is in a stable position if it is set up to 90 degrees to the axis of the tips of the forceps. You can make minor corrections by touching the needle with your left-hand forceps, or by partially relaxing your grip and nudging the needle tip against another firm object. You should hold the needle just behind its midpoint (If you hold it too near the tip, it will point downward. If you hold it too near the thread end, it will point upward.).

Throughout the body, there are several points at which blood vessels unite. The junctions are termed anastomoses. In the simplest sense, an anastomosis is any connection (made surgically or occurring naturally) between tube-like structures. Naturally occurring arterial anastomoses provide an alternative blood supply to target areas in cases where the primary arterial pathway is obstructed. They are most abundant in regions of the body where the blood supply may can be easily damaged or blocked (such as the joints or intestines). This article focuses on the arterial anastomotic networks of the upper limb.

Claudication, which is defined as reproducible ischemic muscle pain, is one of the most common manifestations of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) caused by atherosclerosis. Claudication occurs during physical activity and is relieved after a short rest. Pain develops because of inadequate blood flow. Examination of a patient with claudication should include a complete lower-extremity evaluation and pulse examination, including measuring segmental pressures. Attempt to palpate pulses from the abdominal aorta to the foot, with auscultation for bruits in the abdominal and pelvic regions. When palpable pulses are not present, a handheld Doppler device may be used to assess circulation.

Aortoiliac occlusive disease (AIOD) occurs commonly in patients with PAD. Significant lesions in the aortoiliac arterial segment are exposed easily by palpation of the femoral pulses. Any diminution of the palpable femoral pulse indicates that a more proximal obstruction exists. Obstructive lesions may be present in the infrarenal aorta, common iliac, internal iliac (hypogastric), external iliac, or combinations of any or all of these vessels. Occasionally, degenerated nonstenotic atheromatous disease exists in these vessels and may manifest by atheroembolism to the foot, the "blue toe" or "trash foot" syndrome. Generally, patients with aortoiliac PAD have a poorer general prognosis than those with more distal PAD.

An abscess is an infectious process characterized by a collection of pus surrounded by inflamed tissue. [1, 2] Abscesses can form anywhere in the body, from a superficial skin (subcutaneous) abscess to deep abscesses in muscle, organs, or body cavities. Patients with subcutaneous skin abscesses present clinically as a firm, localized, painful, erythematous swelling that becomes fluctuant (see the image below).

This is a 60 year man having large swelling of size 7cm x 5 cm behind neck for one year. Patient complained pain and tenderness over local area for 7 days and came to us.On examination punctum found in the centre of swelling and fluctuation positive.Infected sebaceous cyst diagnosis made. /nIncision and drainage surgery done under local anesthesia.all infected pultaceous material evacuated.Pus culture sent and antibiotics given as per sensitivity report./nPatient improved with daily dressing.

Compartment syndrome can develop in the foot following crush injury or closed fracture. Following some critical threshold of bleeding and/or swelling into the fixed space compartments, arterial pulse pressure is insufficient to overcome the osmotic tissue pressure gradient, leading to cell death. The complicating factor is related to the magnitude of the force of the crush injury. The amount of swelling or bleeding has to be sufficient to impair arterial inflow, while not being of sufficient magnitude to produce an open injury, which decompresses the pressure within the affected compartments. When the injury is open, we then attribute the late disability primarily to the crushing injury to the involved muscles.

Arthrocentesis involves both the puncture of a joint and the aspiration of its synovial fluid. It is typically used to make an accurate diagnosis of a painful, warm, swollen joint. Removal of excess fluid can be therapeutic. Analysis of the removed fluid helps to decipher its etiology. [1]

The procedure was performed under wrist block regional anesthesia with tourniquet control. A single Chinese finger trap was used on the thumb with 5 to 8 lb of ongitudinal traction. The arm was held down with wide tape around the tourniquet securing it to the hand table to serve as countertraction. A shoulder holder, rather than a traction tower, was used to facilitate fluoroscopic intervention more easily. The Trapeziometacarpal joint was detected by palpation. Joint distension was achieved by injecting 1 to 3 mL of normal saline (Fig. 1). It is important to distally direct the needle approximately 20 degrees to clear the dorsal flare of the metacarpal base and enter the joint capsule. This course should be reproduced upon entering with arthroscopic sleeve/ trocar assembly to minimize iatrogenic cartilage injury. Fluid distention is important to facilitate this. The incision for the 1-R (radial) portal, used for proper assessment of the dorsoradial ligament, posterior oblique ligament, and ulnar collateral ligament, was placed just volar to the abductor pollicis longus tendon. The incision for the 1-U (ulnar) portal, for better evaluation of the anterior oblique ligament and ulnar collateral ligament, was made just ulnar to the extensor pollicis brevis tendon. A short-barrel, 1.9-mm, 30- degree inclination arthroscope was used for complete visualization of the CMC joint surfaces, capsule, and ligaments, and then appropriate management was done, as dictated by the stage of the arthritis detected (Fig. 2A). A full-radius mechanical shaver with suction was used in all the cases, particularly for initial debridement and visualization. Most of the cases were augmented with radiofrequency ablation to perform a thorough synovectomy and radiofrequency was also used to perform chondroplasty in the cases with focal articular cartilage wear or fibrillation. Chondroplasty refers to thedebridement of the fibrillated cartilage to improve vascularity of the cartilage and enhance the growth of fibrocartilage. Ligamentous laxity and capsular attenu- ation were treated with thermal capsulorraphy using a radiofrequency shrinkage probe. We were careful to avoid thermal necrosis; hence, a striping technique was used to tighten the capsule of the lax joints. The striping technique refers to thermal shrinkage performed in longitudinal stripes on the lax capsule, so as to leave vascular zones between the stripes; hence, thermal necrosis is prevented. Arthroscopic stage I disease was characterized by synovitis without any cartilage wear, wherein a synovectomy coupled with thermal capsulor- raphy as described was performed.

The goal of surgical clipping is to isolate an aneurysm from the normal circulation without blocking off any small perforating arteries nearby. Under general anesthesia, an opening is made in the skull, called a craniotomy. The brain is gently retracted to locate the aneurysm. A small clip is placed across the base, or neck, of the aneurysm to block the normal blood flow from entering. The clip works like a tiny coil-spring clothespin, in which the blades of the clip remain tightly closed until pressure is applied to open the blades. Clips are made of titanium and remain on the artery permanently.

Hepatitis C is an infection caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that attacks the liver and leads to inflammation. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 3% of the world’s population has been infected with HCV and that there are more than 170 million chronic carriers who are at risk of developing liver cirrhosis and/or liver cancer. The image below depicts the HCV genome.

Obstructive lung diseases include conditions that make it hard to exhale all the air in the lungs. People with restrictive lung disease have difficulty fully expanding their lungs with air. Obstructive and restrictive lung disease share the same main symptom: shortness of breath with exertion.

Occupational respiratory disease is any lung condition you get at work. Certain workplaces lend themselves to disease. The most common are coalmines and factories or areas with high amounts of toxins. These include asbestos and silica dust, as well as smoke, fumes, gases, and other particles. Types of occupational respiratory disease include: coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, also known as Black Lung Disease asbestosis silicosis farmers’ lung, also known as allergic alveolitis. It also includes forms of asthma, bronchitis, or emphysema.

Mitral valve regurgitation, known as leaky heart valve, can be treated with the MitraClip procedure, especially if you're not a candidate for surgery. As premier heart specialists in the Rocky Mountains, Aurora Denver Cardiology Associates physicians perform this procedure and believe it can be an essential treatment for heart health.