Lebanon Medical Colloquium key terms

A heart rate above the normal range for age and rest, commonly over 100 beats per minute in adults. It may reflect fever, pain, hypovolemia, hypoxia, sepsis, arrhythmia, or anxiety, so the cause matters more than the number alone.

A state in which oxygen delivery fails to meet tissue demand, producing cellular dysfunction and, if untreated, organ failure. It is classified as hypovolemic, cardiogenic, distributive, or obstructive, and treatment targets the specific mechanism.

Life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Diagnosis rests on suspected infection plus evidence of organ dysfunction, and early antibiotics plus source control and fluid resuscitation improve survival.

A spectrum of myocardial ischemia from unstable angina through non-ST-elevation and ST-elevation myocardial infarction. It presents with chest discomfort, ischemia on ECG, or troponin rise, and requires urgent risk stratification and reperfusion when indicated.

A cardiac muscle protein released into blood when myocytes are injured. High-sensitivity assays detect small rises, and serial measurement with timing and clinical context distinguishes acute myocardial infarction from chronic elevation.

A clinical syndrome in which the heart cannot deliver sufficient output at normal filling pressures, or does so only at elevated pressures. Hallmarks include dyspnea, fatigue, edema, and elevated natriuretic peptides.

A metabolic emergency of insulin deficiency with ketone accumulation and high-anion-gap metabolic acidosis, usually with hyperglycemia. Management requires fluids, insulin, potassium replacement, and treatment of the precipitating cause.

The calculated difference between measured cations and anions, commonly sodium minus chloride and bicarbonate. A raised gap suggests accumulation of unmeasured acids such as ketones, lactate, or toxins.

Accumulation of lactate with metabolic acidosis, typically from tissue hypoperfusion, hypoxia, or impaired lactate clearance. It signals serious illness and is monitored as a resuscitation marker.

An abrupt decline in renal function marked by rising creatinine or falling urine output. Causes are prerenal, intrinsic, or postrenal, and management focuses on restoring perfusion, removing obstruction, and stopping nephrotoxins.

A serum potassium concentration above the normal range, dangerous because it can cause fatal cardiac arrhythmias. Emergency treatment stabilizes the myocardium, shifts potassium into cells, and removes it from the body.

A serum sodium concentration below normal, reflecting disturbed water balance rather than simply salt loss. Assessment of volume status and urine osmolality guides correction, which must be gradual to avoid osmotic demyelination.

An acute infection of lung parenchyma acquired outside hospital, presenting with fever, cough, dyspnea, and focal chest signs. Severity scoring guides site of care, and empirical antibiotics target common respiratory pathogens.

Acute inflammation of the vermiform appendix, classically causing periumbilical pain that migrates to the right lower quadrant with tenderness and fever. Delayed diagnosis risks perforation and peritonitis.

Inflammation of the peritoneal lining, which may be infectious or chemical. Signs include guarding, rigidity, and rebound tenderness, and surgical causes such as perforation require urgent operative management.

A mechanical or functional blockage of intestinal transit causing colicky pain, vomiting, distension, and failure to pass gas or stool. Strangulation, ischemia, and perforation are the feared complications.

Failure of a surgical join between two bowel ends or other structures, allowing luminal contents to escape. It presents with fever, pain, ileus, or sepsis after surgery and may require reoperation or drainage.

A patient's voluntary agreement to a procedure after receiving adequate information about its nature, risks, benefits, and alternatives, and after demonstrating capacity to decide. It is both an ethical and legal requirement.

A patient's ability to understand relevant information, appreciate the consequences, reason about options, and communicate a choice. Capacity is decision-specific and assessed clinically rather than by diagnosis alone.

The professional duty to protect patient information from unauthorized disclosure. It may be overridden only by valid consent or a legal obligation such as mandatory reporting of certain communicable diseases or suspected abuse.

The planned discontinuation of life-sustaining treatments judged no longer beneficial, distinct from euthanasia. It follows shared decision-making with the patient or family and includes comfort-focused measures.

A documented instruction that cardiopulmonary resuscitation should not be attempted if the patient arrests. It requires valid consent or an authorized surrogate and does not limit other appropriate treatments.

A pregnancy-specific disorder of new hypertension after 20 weeks with proteinuria or maternal organ dysfunction. It can progress to eclampsia, and delivery remains the definitive treatment.

The occurrence of generalized seizures in a patient with preeclampsia, without another identifiable cause. It is a maternal emergency managed with magnesium sulfate and timely delivery.

A severe pregnancy complication characterized by hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets. It may occur with or without marked hypertension and demands urgent obstetric assessment and delivery planning.

Excessive blood loss after delivery, most often from uterine atony. Management follows a stepwise approach of uterine massage, uterotonics, and escalation to surgical or interventional measures.

Yellow discoloration from bilirubin accumulation in a newborn. It is common and usually benign but requires assessment for hemolysis, sepsis, or biliary obstruction when early, severe, or prolonged.

Irreversible brain injury from bilirubin deposition in the basal ganglia of a jaundiced newborn. Prevention relies on identifying and treating significant hyperbilirubinemia before neurological damage occurs.

A viral lower respiratory infection of infants, most often from respiratory syncytial virus, causing wheeze, crackles, and respiratory distress. Management is mainly supportive with oxygen and hydration.

An acute viral inflammation of the upper airway in children producing a barking cough, hoarse voice, and inspiratory stridor. Mild cases respond to corticosteroids, with nebulized epinephrine for severe obstruction.

A syndrome of persistent low mood or loss of interest with cognitive and somatic symptoms lasting at least two weeks and causing impairment. Treatment combines psychotherapy and antidepressant medication according to severity.

A toxic reaction to serotonergic drugs causing agitation, tremor, clonus, hyperreflexia, and autonomic instability. Recognition and withdrawal of the offending agents are essential, with supportive care and sometimes cyproheptadine.

A structured clinical evaluation of intent, plan, means, prior attempts, and protective factors in a patient with suicidal thoughts. It guides level of care and safety planning rather than predicting risk with certainty.

A severe, rapidly developing systemic hypersensitivity reaction involving airway, breathing, or circulation, often with skin changes. Intramuscular epinephrine is the first-line treatment and must not be delayed.

The likelihood that gastric contents will enter the airway during anesthesia or impaired consciousness. It is reduced by fasting guidelines, positioning, and rapid sequence induction in high-risk patients.

An anesthetic technique for patients at risk of aspiration, combining a rapid-acting induction agent with neuromuscular blockade and cricoid pressure or careful positioning to secure the airway quickly.

Sensitivity is the proportion of people with disease who test positive; specificity is the proportion without disease who test negative. Both depend on the chosen threshold and influence how a test is used clinically.

The probability that a person with a positive test truly has the disease, which rises as disease prevalence increases. It answers the patient's question of what a positive result means for them.