1/12
🤔Why does iron deficiency cause fatigue, even in the absence of anemia?
I have often equated iron with hemoglobin and oxygen-carrying capacity.
But there is so much more to it!
1/14
🤔Why does it take weeks for the radiographic evidence of pneumonia to clear?
Patients often feel better DAYS after starting treatment.
And yet the chest x-ray takes WEEKS to return to normal.
Why the delay?
1/17
How does calcium "stabilize the cardiac membrane" in hyperkalemia?
I learned early in my intern year to use calcium in the setting of severe hyperkalemia.
I never really learned how it works. The answer requires some history. And uncovers a forgotten alternative treatment.
1/16
🤔Why does subarachnoid hemorrhage lead to deep/inverted "cerebral T-waves"?
This ECG finding is so dramatic. But as we will see, these patients often have normal hearts.
Why does an issue in the brain manifest on a test of the heart?
1/15
🤔Why are splenic metastases so rare?
I always saw the spleen as a lymphoid organ similar to lymph nodes. If the latter are major sites of metastases, why not the former?
Why makes the spleen so inhospitable?
1/16
Why is azithromycin considered anti-inflammatory?
Many of us have prescribed it as part of our acute COPD regimen, not just for its antimicrobial properties, but also for its anti-inflammatory properties.
Let's explore macrolides, in all their mechanistic forms…
1/17
🤔Why do we use epinephrine to treat cardiac arrest?
Epinephrine can CAUSE cardiac arrest. And yet we give it as part of ACLS to treat the condition it caused.
This paradox requires explanation.
1/
Why do we need to correct hypomagnesemia in order to correct hypokalemia?
This thread is for all the interns out there, repleting, and repleting, and repleting...
1/4 - The Mystery
A doctor is on overnight call in the hospital. They are also hooked up to continuous ECG monitoring.
🤔What might cause the following tracing?
1/14
What is the mechanism of night sweats?
We ask about "fevers, chills, and NIGHT sweats", not "fevers, chills, and DAY sweats." Why?
To understand the answer, we'll need to cover temperature regulation, circadian rhythms, and more...
1/16
How does diabetes mellitus (DM) lead to an increased risk of infection?
I'll often hear this referenced on rounds or in morning report, but I don't recall having heard the mechanism.
As you might guess, there are many potential explanations; let's look at one of them...
1/15
🤔Why do antibiotics reduce the risk of rebleeding after acute variceal hemorrhage?
I understand why antibiotics reduce infections, but the mechanism by which they reduce rebleeding is not immediately apparent.
Let's have a look.
1/18
🤔Why does heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) lead to sodium retention?
With reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), decreased cardiac output (CO) leads to neurohormonal activation and sodium avidity.
If CO is preserved in HFpEF, what's the inciting event?
