In the US, most laboratory test results are reported in what are termed conventional units; the rest of the world reports results in Système International d'Unités (SI) or international units (IU). The unit basis for SI is updated periodically by a panel.

Evaluation

History: History of present illness should cover duration of symptoms and whether they have occurred in the past. Important accompanying symptoms include fever, flank pain, urethral or vaginal discharge, and symptoms of bladder irritation (frequency, urgency) or obstruction (hesitancy, dribbling). Patients should be asked whether the urine is bloody, cloudy, or malodorous and the nature of any discharge (eg, thin and watery or thick and purulent). Clinicians should also ask whether patients have recently engaged in unprotected intercourse, have applied potential irritants to the perineum, have had recent urinary instrumentation (eg, cystoscopy, catheterization, surgery), or might be pregnant.

Euthyroid sick syndrome is low serum levels of thyroid hormones in clinically euthyroid patients with nonthyroidal systemic illness. Diagnosis is based on excluding hypothyroidism. Treatment is of the underlying illness; thyroid hormone replacement is not indicated.

Patients with various acute or chronic nonthyroid disorders may have abnormal thyroid function tests. Such disorders include acute and chronic illness, particularly fasting, starvation, protein-energy undernutrition, major trauma, MI, chronic renal failure, diabetic ketoacidosis, anorexia nervosa, cirrhosis, thermal injury, and sepsis.

The diagnostic dilemma is whether the patient has hypothyroidism or euthyroid sick syndrome. The best test is measurement of TSH, which in euthyroid sick syndrome is low, normal, or slightly elevated but not as high as it would be in hypothyroidism. Serum rT3 is elevated, although this measurement is rarely done. Serum cortisol is often elevated in euthyroid sick syndrome and low or low-normal in hypothyroidism due to pituitary-hypothalamic disease. Because tests are nonspecific, clinical judgment is required to interpret abnormal thyroid function tests in the acutely or chronically ill patient. Unless thyroid dysfunction is highly suspected, thyroid function tests should not be ordered for patients in the ICU.

childhood disease and disorder

Classic infectious diseases of childhood


All of the various types of infectious disease, which can involve virtually every organ and every part of the body, are encountered in children. There are, however, certain infectious illnesses that have become almost synonymous with the term childhood disease. These diseases occur chiefly among children, and one bout usually provides lifelong immunity against further attacks. Such classic infectious diseases of childhood include the exanthematous viral infections (i.e., measles, chicken pox, German measles, and other viral infections that produce skin eruptions) and mumps. The incidence of these diseases, which were once endemic ... (100 of 15351 words)

What are the different types of cancer?


There are over 200 types of cancer; far too numerous to include in this introductory article. However, the NCI lists several general categories (see list in first section of this article). This list is expanded below to list more specific types of cancers found in each general category; it is not all inclusive and the cancers listed in quotes are the general names of some cancers:
Carcinoma: Cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs -- "skin, lung, colon, pancreatic, ovarian cancers," epithelial, squamous and basal cell carcinomas, melanomas, papillomas, and adenomas

Central nervous system cancers: Cancers that begin in the tissues of the brain and spinal cord -- "brain and spinal cord tumors," gliomas, meningiomas, pituitary adenomas, vestibular schwannomas, primary CNS lymphomas, and primitive neuroectodermal tumors

What is Hodgkin lymphoma?


Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer that begins in cells of the immune system. The immune system fights infections and other diseases.

The lymphatic system is part of the immune system. The lymphatic system includes the following:
Lymph vessels: The lymphatic system has a network of lymph vessels. Lymph vessels branch into all the tissues of the body.

Learning you have Hodgkin lymphoma can change your life and the lives of those close to you. These changes can be hard to handle. It's normal for you, your family, and your friends to have many different and sometimes confusing feelings.

Concerns about treatments and managing side effects, hospital stays, and medical bills are common. You may also worry about caring for your family, keeping your job, or continuing daily activities.

My Hodgkin's disease started back in 1991. I had been extremely fatigued but was busy with college and wedding plans and thought nothing of it. I also had itchy skin and then developed a pretty bad cough. I noticed I had large swelling at the base of my neck. That is what prompted me to go to the doctor. After a week of it still being there, I went back to the doctor who then sent me to a general surgeon for a biopsy and after the biopsy they did a post-op chest X-ray and could tell that it was most likely Hodgkin's disease, and it was. I was then referred to an oncologist and went through eight months of chemo (ABVD) and six weeks of radiation. I have been cancer-free ever since.