Health BUZZ

22/07/2025

Health BUZZ
Jose Monari

29/06/2025

Pyelonephritis

:
Pyelonephritis is an infection of the upper urinary tract involving the renal pelvis and renal parenchyma. It can be acute or chronic, with potential for severe complications including sepsis, renal scarring, and abscess formation.

and Pathophysiology:
• Most cases result from ascending infection from the lower urinary tract (e.g., cystitis), though hematogenous spread can occur.
• Common pathogens include E. coli and other Gram-negative bacteria.
• Predisposing factors include:
• Urinary tract obstruction
• Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR)
• Pregnancy
• Diabetes mellitus
• Urinary tract instrumentation
• Neurogenic bladder

Features:
• Symptoms:
• Fever, chills, and anorexia
• Flank pain and costovertebral angle tenderness
• Nausea, vomiting
• Dysuria, urinary frequency, and urgency
• Laboratory findings:
• Pyuria, bacteriuria (>100,000 CFU/mL), and leukocyte casts
• Positive dipstick for nitrites and leukocyte esterase
• CBC may show leukocytosis with neutrophilia

:
• Primarily clinical, supported by urinalysis and urine culture
• Imaging (ultrasound or CT) indicated in complicated cases or if no improvement after 48–72 hours
• CT scan may show renal stranding, abscesses, or gas formation

:
• Gross pathology: swollen kidneys with multiple small abscesses
• Histology: neutrophilic infiltration in interstitium and collecting ducts

:
• Uncomplicated cases: Oral antibiotics (e.g., fluoroquinolones or 3rd-generation cephalosporins..etc) for 7–14 days
• Complicated or severe cases: Hospitalization, IV antibiotics, and fluid resuscitation
• Adjust antibiotics based on culture results
• Address underlying structural or functional abnormalities

:
• Complicated Pyelonephritis includes:
• Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN): Gas-forming necrotizing infection, more common in diabetics
• Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis: Chronic destructive inflammation

05/05/2025

Ever wonder how the body actually processes stress? To kick off Mental Health Awareness Month, we're sharing key info behind the physiology of stress!

Stress is the body's physical, mental, and emotional response to a stressor or a change requiring adaptation.

A stressor can be:
• External stimuli, like a loud noise
• Daily events, such as losing your keys
• Academic or work events (e.g. an important assignment)
• Social events
• Exposure to drugs or alcohol
• Psychological, like an interpersonal conflict

There can be positive stress, or eustress, that makes a person motivated and alert, but there's of course negative stress, or distress, which causes anxiety and can lead to poor performance.

How a person responds to a stressor depends on the individual's coping mechanisms. Some folks may feel irritable, tense, or helpless. Concentration and memory may also be affected. In terms of physiology, there three stages of stress response: the alarm, the resistance, and the exhaustion stages.

The alarm stage refers to the body's initial reaction when activation of the sympathetic nervous system occurs to maintain the body functions that enables responses.

During the resistance stage, hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine are continuously released to stimulate the sympathetic nervous system in order to continue engaging the body.

Finally, in the exhaustion stage, the body is no longer able to maintain increased sympathetic nervous system activities. Persistent stress can make a person susceptible to social withdrawal, substance abuse, aggressive behavior, suicidal ideation, or other mental health disorders.

05/05/2025

23/04/2025

SENSORINEURAL HEARING LOSS!

Sensorineural hearing loss usually occurs as a result of any lesion disrupting the transmission of a neural impulse from the cochlea to the brain. This can result from damage to the inner ear, cochlea, cochlear nerve, or brainstem.

One of many causes of sensorineural hearing loss is a tumor called acoustic neuroma, also known as vestibular schwannoma. This tumor arises from Schwann cells of the vestibular portion of the vestibulocochlear nerve within the internal acoustic meatus and often expands proximally to enter into the cerebellopontine angle where the nerves originate. Remember that both the facial nerve and the vestibulocochlear nerve travel through the internal acoustic meatus together!

Patients with acoustic neuroma primarily present with hearing loss and tinnitus, because of cochlear nerve involvement, but facial palsy, as well as vestibular symptoms, are also common.

13/02/2025

Causes of low s*x libido

Sexual activity is reduced when one's libido is low and it's normal to lose interest in s*x from time to time. The libido levels vary throughout life. It's also normal for your interest not to match your partner's. However, low libido for a long time may cause concern.

1. Low testosterone
Testosterone is an important male hormone, and it's mostly produced in the testicles.
Testosterone is responsible for building muscles and bone mass for stimulating s***m production. Your testosterone levels vary a factoring in s*x drive.

2. Medication
Taking certain medication can lower testosterone levels which may turn to low s*x libido. Medication such as birth control pills,as well as blood pressure medications may have side effects in decreasing libido.
High blood pressure or hypertension, or cancer treatment, diabetesdrugs. Chemotherapy may lower men's testosterone levels.

If medication play major factor in decrease in your libido, consider making a appointment with a health care provider.

3. Depression
People with depression experience a reduced or lack of interest in the activities they once found pleasurable including s*x.

4. Chronic illness
When you're not feeling well during to effects of a chronic health condition such as chronic pain, type two diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, chronic heart, lung, kidney or liver failure, s*x is likely low on your priority list.

5. Sleep issue
Men with obstructive sleep problems experience lower testosterone levels, which in turn leads to decreased s*xual activity.

6. Stress
If you're distracted by situations, your s*xual desire may decrease. This is because stress disrupts your hormone levels. Your arteries can narrow in times of stress, and that narrowing restricted blood flow and potentially causes delayed ej*******on.

7. Low self-esteem
Self-esteem is a general opinion someone has about themselves. Low self-esteem, low self-confidence, poor body image can take a toll on your emotional health and well-being.
Low self-esteem can cause anxiety about s*xual performance, which can lead to reduced s*xual desire.

8. Too much or too little exercise
This can also be responsible for low s*x drive in men. Too little exercise can lead to a range of problems that can affect s*xual desire and arousal.

9. Alcohol
Heavy alcohol consumption decreases testosterone production, sometimes excessive amount of alcohol an reduce s*x drive.

26/01/2025

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28/10/2024

Today's dives deeper into the Chads-Vasc score, a vital assessment used to predict the risk of stroke in atrial fibrillation!

Atrial fibrillation is a condition in which signals in the atria move in a disorganized way, so instead of having one big contraction of the atria, there are lots of mini contractions.

Because the atria quiver, the blood in the atria becomes stagnant. As you know, when blood stays still, it tends to form clots. A clot can travel from the atria into the ventricles, and potentially the brain, leading to a stroke.

Because of this, the CHADS-VASc score is used to predict the risk of stroke in atrial fibrillation:
• C - congestive heart failure (1 point)
• H - hypertension (1 point)
• A - age & 75 (2 points)
• D - diabetes (1 point)
• S - stroke or TIA (2 points)

• V - vascular disease (1 point)
• A - age 65-74 (1 point)
• Sc - s*x category, female (1 point)

After totaling the score, we can estimate the risk of stroke and use appropriate therapies to prevent it:
• 0: low risk
• 1: moderate risk
• ≥ 2: high risk

Learn more about the Chads-Vasc score and atrial fibrillation: https://osms.it/clinical-pearl-chad-vasc-
Jose Monari
Health BUZZ