Rhabdomyolysis is a syndrome that is characterised by the destruction of striated (skeletal) muscle leading to the release of cellular contents into the circulating blood plasma (Vanholder et al,...
A search strategy was undertaken of medical and nursing databases including Medline, Cinahl, Embase, Psychinfo, the Cochrane database of systematic reviews, together with the British Medical Journal...
Body cells need energy to function; glucose (sugar obtained from digestion and metabolism of carbohydrates) is the body's main energy source. The glucose in digested food is absorbed in the small...
Golden and Hervey's four stage theory (Golden and Hervey, 1981) begins during immediate contact with the water. On initial immersion, an autonomic reflex is triggered involving uncontrollable...
While gout is becoming an increasingly prevalent condition, it has its background many thousands of years ago. The Egyptians first identified gout in 2 640 BC, and in the fifth century, Hippocrates...
A large variety of organisms, such as meningococci, pneumococci and influenza type b, normally inhabit the naso- and oropharnyx, causing relatively no harm in a healthy individual. Predisposing...
A lightning strike injures patients in three main ways: electrical current, heat production and concussive forces (Table 2)..
Before 1922, and the work of Nobel Prize winning Canadian medics Dr Frederick Banting and Charles Best (still a medical student at the time), developing diabetes in childhood was akin to a death...
Tension pneumothorax is a build up of air between the lung and the pleura lining the chest wall. It occurs when a defect in the lung, chest wall or airways operates as a one-way valve, allowing air...
In the case of an embolic cause, which creates an ischaemic stroke, alteplase (Actilyse® manufactured by Boehringen Ingelheim) can be used—this is a drug developed to break down clots. Although...
Ischemic heart disease is a condition characterised by inadequate myocardial perfusion caused by reduced blood supply, increased myocardial oxygen demand, or both (Falk et al. 2011). Coronary heart...