ECOM-CR Medical Licensure key terms

Neurological injury, often to the pons, caused by overly rapid correction of chronic hyponatremia; presents with confusion, dysarthria, dysphagia, or quadriparesis days after sodium rises too quickly.

Serum sodium below the normal range, usually reflecting excess water relative to solute; classified by volume status and tonicity, and treated according to chronicity and symptoms rather than the number alone.

The volume of water needed to restore normal serum sodium in hypernatremia, estimated from total body water and the ratio of measured to desired sodium; guides the rate and volume of fluid replacement.

Elevated serum potassium that risks cardiac conduction delay and arrhythmia; emergent treatment combines membrane stabilization with calcium, intracellular shift, and removal of potassium from the body.

An abrupt decline in glomerular filtration over hours to days, marked by rising creatinine or falling urine output; staged by severity and categorized as prerenal, intrinsic renal, or postrenal.

The percentage of filtered sodium excreted in urine, calculated from paired serum and urine sodium and creatinine; low values suggest prerenal physiology while higher values suggest intrinsic tubular injury.

A hyperglycemic emergency with ketosis and metabolic acidosis, driven by insulin deficiency and counter-regulatory hormones; managed with isotonic fluids, insulin infusion, potassium replacement, and treatment of the precipitant.

The difference between measured cations and anions, commonly sodium minus chloride and bicarbonate; an elevated value narrows the differential for metabolic acidosis to unmeasured acids such as ketones or lactate.

Metabolic acidosis from accumulated lactate, typically due to tissue hypoperfusion, sepsis, or impaired clearance; treatment targets the underlying cause rather than bicarbonate administration alone.

Life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection; identified by clinical deterioration and organ dysfunction markers, and treated with early antimicrobials, fluids, and source control.

Sepsis with persistent hypotension requiring vasopressors to maintain mean arterial pressure despite adequate fluid resuscitation, together with elevated lactate; carries high mortality and demands rapid escalation.

A first-line vasopressor for septic and most distributive shock, increasing vascular tone with modest inotropy; given by infusion through a secure line with titration to a mean arterial pressure target.

A spectrum of myocardial ischemia from plaque rupture, spanning unstable angina, non-ST-elevation infarction, and ST-elevation infarction; distinguished by ECG findings and cardiac troponin values.

A cardiac muscle protein released into blood after myocyte injury; high-sensitivity assays detect small elevations, so interpretation requires serial measurement and clinical context rather than a single value.

Acute coronary occlusion producing persistent ST elevation in contiguous leads; requires urgent reperfusion by primary percutaneous coronary intervention or fibrinolysis when timely intervention is unavailable.

A supraventricular arrhythmia with chaotic atrial activity and irregular ventricular response; management addresses rate or rhythm control and stroke prevention using validated thromboembolic risk scores.

A point-based tool estimating stroke risk in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation from age, sex, heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, and prior stroke or vascular disease; guides anticoagulation decisions.

Persistent airflow limitation from airway and alveolar abnormalities, usually related to tobacco exposure; diagnosed by post-bronchodilator spirometry and managed with bronchodilators, smoking cessation, and exacerbation prevention.

The volume exhaled in the first second of a forced breath from full inspiration; paired with forced vital capacity, it supports diagnosis and severity staging of obstructive and restrictive lung disease.

Noninvasive estimation of arterial oxygen saturation using light absorption differences between oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin; unreliable in poor perfusion, motion, or abnormal hemoglobin species.

Inflammation of the vermiform appendix, typically causing migrating periumbilical to right lower quadrant pain with localized peritoneal signs; diagnosis is clinical with imaging, and treatment is appendectomy or selected antibiotic therapy.

Inflammation of the peritoneal lining, which may be infectious or chemical; presents with rigid abdomen, rebound tenderness, and systemic signs, and often requires surgical source control.

Mechanical or functional blockage of intestinal transit causing colicky pain, vomiting, distension, and absent flatus; managed with decompression, fluid and electrolyte correction, and surgery when strangulation or closed loop is suspected.

A multimodal perioperative pathway using preoperative counseling, carbohydrate loading, opioid-sparing analgesia, early feeding, and early mobilization to shorten recovery and reduce complications.

Structured estimation of surgical risk from patient factors, procedure urgency, and functional capacity; guides preoperative testing, optimization, and shared decisions about anesthesia and timing.

A pharmacogenetic reaction to volatile anesthetics or succinylcholine causing hypermetabolism, rigidity, hypercapnia, and hyperthermia; treated emergently by stopping triggers and giving dantrolene with aggressive supportive care.

Yellow discoloration from elevated bilirubin in the first weeks of life; classified as physiologic or pathologic by timing, rate of rise, and fraction, with phototherapy for those at risk of kernicterus.

Irreversible neurological injury from bilirubin deposition in the basal ganglia and brainstem of a newborn; prevented by identifying and treating severe hyperbilirubinemia before bilirubin crosses into brain tissue.

An acute medium-vessel vasculitis of young children causing prolonged fever, conjunctivitis, mucosal changes, rash, and extremity changes; treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and aspirin to prevent coronary artery aneurysms.

New hypertension with proteinuria or maternal organ dysfunction after 20 weeks of gestation; delivery is definitive treatment, with magnesium sulfate used for seizure prophylaxis in severe disease.

New-onset generalized seizures in a patient with preeclampsia, without another cause; managed with magnesium sulfate, blood pressure control, and timely delivery after maternal stabilization.

A pregnancy complication with hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets, often overlapping with severe preeclampsia; may present with right upper quadrant pain and requires urgent obstetric management.

Excessive blood loss after delivery, most often from uterine atony; managed in sequence with uterine massage, uterotonics, tranexamic acid, and escalation to mechanical or surgical measures.

A mood disorder with at least two weeks of depressed mood or anhedonia plus associated cognitive and somatic symptoms causing impairment; treated with psychotherapy, antidepressants, or both.

A toxic reaction from serotonergic agents causing agitation, autonomic instability, clonus, hyperreflexia, and hyperthermia; managed by stopping the offending drugs and supportive care, with cyproheptadine in severe cases.

An acute fluctuating disturbance of attention and awareness, usually from a medical cause, medication, or withdrawal; distinguished from dementia by its abrupt onset and reversibility potential.

A patient's voluntary authorization of a procedure or treatment after receiving information on its nature, risks, benefits, and alternatives, given by a person with decision-making capacity.

A patient's ability to understand relevant information, appreciate the consequences of choices, reason about options, and communicate a decision; assessed clinically and distinct from legal competence.

Sensitivity is the proportion of truly diseased people correctly identified by a test; specificity is the proportion of truly healthy people correctly identified as negative.

The probability that a person with a positive test result truly has the condition; it rises with disease prevalence, unlike sensitivity and specificity, which are properties of the test itself.