DOH Doctor Exam key terms

A life-threatening syndrome in which a dysregulated immune response to infection causes organ dysfunction, identified clinically by signs such as altered mentation, low blood pressure, raised respiratory rate, or elevated lactate.

A subset of sepsis with persistent hypotension requiring vasopressors to maintain mean arterial pressure and elevated lactate despite adequate fluid resuscitation, carrying high mortality.

A spectrum of conditions caused by sudden reduction in coronary blood flow, encompassing unstable angina, non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction, and ST-elevation myocardial infarction, usually presenting with chest pain or discomfort.

A hyperglycemic emergency marked by absolute or relative insulin deficiency, ketone accumulation, metabolic acidosis, and dehydration, often triggered by infection, missed insulin, or new-onset diabetes.

An abrupt decline in kidney function over hours to days, shown by a rise in serum creatinine or reduced urine output, commonly caused by hypovolemia, nephrotoxins, sepsis, or urinary obstruction.

An acute infection of the lung parenchyma acquired outside hospital, with fever, cough, dyspnea, and focal chest signs, requiring severity assessment to decide admission and antibiotic route.

A clinical syndrome in which the heart cannot pump or fill adequately to meet the body's needs, causing breathlessness, fatigue, fluid retention, and often reduced or preserved ejection fraction.

A painful emergency in which raised pressure within a closed muscle compartment reduces tissue perfusion, threatening muscle and nerve viability; urgent fasciotomy is required when clinical signs and pressure measurements indicate.

A breakdown of a surgical join between two bowel ends or other tubular structures, causing contained or free spillage of contents, with fever, pain, ileus, or peritonitis, often requiring imaging and reoperation.

An infection occurring within 30 days after surgery, or within 90 days after implant placement, at or near the operative site, classified as superficial, deep, or organ-space.

A rapid, prioritized trauma assessment of catastrophic threats in order: catastrophic hemorrhage, airway, breathing, circulation, disability, and exposure, with resuscitation begun before secondary examination.

A life-threatening accumulation of air in the pleural space under positive pressure that shifts mediastinal structures, causing severe dyspnea, hypotension, and distended neck veins, requiring immediate needle decompression.

A severe, rapidly developing systemic hypersensitivity reaction with airway, breathing, or circulatory compromise, or prominent skin and mucosal signs, treated immediately with intramuscular epinephrine and supportive care.

Sudden focal neurological deficit caused by arterial occlusion in the brain, requiring urgent imaging and time-critical reperfusion assessment while maintaining airway, glucose, and blood pressure control.

A common viral lower respiratory infection in infants, usually caused by respiratory syncytial virus, presenting with coryza, cough, wheeze, crackles, and feeding difficulty; management is mainly supportive.

A convulsion associated with fever in a child aged 6 months to 5 years without central nervous system infection or prior afebrile seizures; most are brief and do not require long-term treatment.

Yellow discoloration from bilirubin accumulation in a newborn, common and usually physiological, but requiring timely bilirubin measurement to detect severe or pathological hyperbilirubinemia and prevent kernicterus.

An acute febrile vasculitis of young children with conjunctivitis, oral changes, rash, extremity changes, and cervical lymphadenopathy, threatening coronary artery aneurysms and treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and aspirin.

A pregnancy-specific disorder of new hypertension after 20 weeks with proteinuria or maternal organ dysfunction, threatening maternal and fetal health and cured only by delivery.

Excessive bleeding after childbirth, commonly defined as at least 500 mL after vaginal birth or 1000 mL after cesarean, usually from uterine atony and managed with uterotonics and volume resuscitation.

Implantation of a fertilized ovum outside the uterine cavity, most often in a fallopian tube, which can rupture and cause life-threatening hemorrhage; early diagnosis allows medical or surgical treatment.

Glucose intolerance first recognized during pregnancy, increasing risks of macrosomia, preeclampsia, and neonatal hypoglycemia; it is managed with diet, activity, glucose monitoring, and insulin when needed.

A mood disorder with at least two weeks of depressed mood or loss of interest plus associated symptoms such as sleep, appetite, concentration, or suicidal changes, causing significant distress or impairment.

An acute fluctuating disturbance of attention and awareness with altered cognition, commonly triggered by infection, drugs, pain, or metabolic derangement, especially in older or cognitively impaired patients.

A cluster of symptoms after reducing or stopping heavy alcohol use, ranging from tremor and anxiety to seizures and delirium tremens, managed with benzodiazepines, thiamine, and supportive care.

A patient's voluntary agreement to a medical intervention after receiving and understanding relevant information about its purpose, benefits, risks, alternatives, and the consequences of refusal.

A patient's ability to understand relevant information, appreciate the consequences, reason about options, and communicate a choice; it is assessed for a specific decision rather than globally.

The professional duty to protect patient information from unauthorized disclosure, subject to limited legal or ethical exceptions such as serious risk to others or mandatory reporting.

The ethical and often legal obligation to be open and honest with patients when care has caused harm, including apologizing, explaining what happened, and supporting further action.

An illness that clinicians or laboratories must report to public health authorities, enabling surveillance, outbreak investigation, and control measures for conditions of public health importance.

Indirect protection of susceptible people when a sufficiently high proportion of a population is immune to an infection, reducing transmission and protecting those who cannot be vaccinated.

The proportion of people with a disease who correctly test positive; a highly sensitive test is useful for ruling out disease when the result is negative.

The proportion of people without a disease who correctly test negative; a highly specific test is useful for confirming disease when the result is positive.

The number of patients who must receive a treatment for one additional patient to benefit, calculated as the reciprocal of the absolute risk reduction; lower values indicate greater benefit.

The time required for the concentration of a drug in plasma to fall by half, determining dosing interval and time to steady state during repeated administration.

Coordinated efforts to use antimicrobials appropriately, selecting the right drug, dose, route, and duration to improve outcomes, reduce resistance, and limit adverse effects and costs.

Conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, including income, education, housing, and food security, that shape health risks and access to care.

The consistent, ongoing relationship between a patient and clinician or care team over time, supporting trust, coordination, and accumulation of knowledge about the patient's needs.

A collaborative process in which clinician and patient discuss options, benefits, harms, and patient values, then agree on a care plan together.

A temperature-controlled supply system that keeps vaccines within recommended ranges from manufacture to administration, preserving potency and preventing avoidable disease.