Three major Tests in three weeks from today.

What is the test?
The ventilation-perfusion scan is a nuclear scan so named because it studies both airflow (ventilation) and blood flow (perfusion) in the lungs. The initials V-Q are used in mathematical equations that calculate airflow and blood flow. The test is used primarily to help diagnose a blood clot in the lungs, called a pulmonary embolus.
Today, ventilation-perfusion scans are rarely performed because a chest CT scan is a much more accurate diagnostic test for detecting a pulmonary embolus.
How do I prepare for the test?
About one hour before the test, a technician places an IV in your arm. A slightly radioactive version of the mineral technetium mixed with liquid protein is injected through the IV to identify areas of the lung that have reduced blood flow.
What happens when the test is performed?
The test is performed in the radiology department of a hospital or in an outpatient facility. You are asked to put on a hospital gown. Once you are ready, multiple pictures of your chest are taken from different angles, using a special camera that detects the radionuclide. For half of these pictures, you are asked to breathe from a tube that has a mixture of air, oxygen, and a slightly radioactive version of a gas called xenon, which can be detected by the camera, and which measures airflow in different parts of the lung. For the other half of the pictures, the camera tracks the injected radionuclide to determine blood flow in different parts of the lung. A blood clot is suspected in areas of the lung that have good airflow but poor blood flow. Except for the minor discomfort of having the IV placed, the test is painless. It usually takes less than one hour.
What risks are there from the test?
Many people worry when they hear that the liquid and gas used in this test are slightly radioactive. In truth, the radioactivity you are exposed to in this test is so small that there are no side effects or complications, unless you are pregnant.
Must I do anything special after the test is over?
No.
How long is it before the result of the test is known?
The results are usually available within a few hours, because the test is done primarily when you are suspected of having a potentially life-threatening condition (pulmonary embolus). The Second test is An arterial blood gas (ABG) test measures the acidity (pH) and the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood from an artery. This test is used to check how well your lungs are able to move oxygen into the blood and remove carbon dioxide from the blood.
As blood passes through your lungs, oxygen moves into the blood while carbon dioxide moves out of the blood into the lungs. An ABG test uses blood drawn from an artery, where the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels can be measured before they enter body tissues. An ABG measures:
• Partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2). This measures the pressure of oxygen dissolved in the blood and how well oxygen is able to move from the airspace of the lungs into the blood.
• Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2). This measures how much carbon dioxide is dissolved in the blood and how well carbon dioxide is able to move out of the body.
• pH. The pH measures hydrogen ions (H+) in blood. The pH of blood is usually between 7.35 and 7.45. A pH of less than 7.0 is called acid and a pH greater than 7.0 is called basic (alkaline). So blood is slightly basic.
• Bicarbonate (HCO3). Bicarbonate is a chemical (buffer) that keeps the pH of blood from becoming too acidic or too basic.
• Oxygen content (O2CT) and oxygen saturation (O2Sat) values. O2 content measures the amount of oxygen in the blood. Oxygen saturation measures how much of the hemoglobin in the red blood cells is carrying oxygen (O2).
Blood for an ABG test is taken from an artery. Most other blood tests are done on a sample of blood taken from a vein, after the blood has already passed through the body's tissues where the oxygen is used up and carbon dioxide is produced.
Why It Is Done
An arterial blood gas (ABG) test is done to:
• Check for severe breathing problems and lung diseases, such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
• See how well treatment for lung diseases is working.
• Find out if you need extra oxygen or help with breathing (mechanical ventilation).
• Find out if you are receiving the right amount of oxygen when you are using oxygen in the hospital.
• Measure the acid-base level in the blood of people who have heart failure, kidney failure, uncontrolled diabetes, sleep disorders, severe infections, or after a drug overdose.
How To Prepare
Tell your doctor if you:
• Have had bleeding problems or take blood thinners, such as aspirin or warfarin (Coumadin).
• Are taking any medicines.
• Are allergic to any medicines, such as those used to numb the skin (anesthetics).
If you are on oxygen therapy, the oxygen may be turned off for 20 minutes before the blood test. This is called a "room air" test. If you cannot breathe without the oxygen. The last test is What is cardiac catheterization? This is a procedure to examine blood flow to the heart and test how well the heart is pumping. A doctor inserts a thin plastic tube (catheter) (KATH'eh-ter) into an artery or vein in the arm or leg. From there it can be advanced into the chambers of the heart or into the coronary arteries.
This test can measure blood pressure within the heart and how much oxygen is in the blood. It's also used to get information about the pumping ability of the heart muscle. Catheters are also used to inject dye into the coronary arteries. This is called coronary angiography (an"je-OG'rah-fe) or coronary arteriography (ar-te"re-OG'rah-fe). Catheters with a balloon on the tip are used in the procedure called coronary angioplasty (commonly referred to as percutaneous coronary intervention [PCI]). Catheterization of the heart may also be done on infants and children to examine for congenital (kon-JEN'ih-tal) heart defects. And then on Sept 27,2010 I will be see Dr Lee at 1:30pm to see if i pass all the test.

Be Someone's Hero. Give Blood

Friday, July 30, 2010
When I first read this question, it brought me back to the 80’s. Does anyone else remember those first articles about the “gay plague” that was originally called Gay Related Immune Deficiency? Back then we were told that the only folks at risk for this teriffying new disease were gay men (not lesbians – just gay men), Haitians and intervenous drug users. That made Americans feel better because it meant it was confined to “those people.” A bit later we learned that because HIV can be passed through blood transfusions, another at risk population was hemophiliacs. (BTW, the blood banks knew for awhile but refused to do anything to mitigate the damage being caused. I highly recommend the book “And the Band Played On…” by Randy Shilts.)

New, improved HIV tests In March 2006, the Red Cross, the international blood association AABB and America’s Blood Centers proposed replacing the lifetime ban with a one-year deferral following male-to-male sexual contact. New and improved tests, which can detect HIV-positive donors within just 10 to 21 days of infection, make the lifetime ban unnecessary, the blood groups told the FDA.
However we know now exactly how and why AIDS is transmitted, we know how to test for HIV and we know that AIDS is not limited to any single demographic or small group of demographics. This rule is a throw back, it remains simply because of homophobia, and it needs to be changed. This is so sad because for over twenty five, I have been tested every year and for twenty five years it's has come back Negative. What's wrong with this picture? But without hesitation they ask for my donation of Forty dollars each year to keep my name on the list of donors. With all the modern advancement that we have overcome, you would think it would change the way we give blood and the way it's it tested. Here is a list of who can't be a Blood Donor below.

Persons at risk for AIDS (or those listed below and their sexual partners) are NOT permitted to give blood:
•Anyone infected with the AIDS virus (HIV)
•Anyone who has ever used illegal IV drugs (using needles)
•Any male who has had sex with another male, even one time, since 1977
•Anyone who has had sex in exchange for money or drugs since 1977
•Anyone who has had gonorrhea or syphilis (VD) in the last 12 months
•Anyone with hemophilia who has received clotting factor concentrates
Blood donors are needed every day. If you are able to give blood, please join our efforts to save lives on Delmarva!

Do we really have true friends!!

A real friend won't always wait for you to call. I've been in one-sided friendships before in which the other person, or "friend" wouldn't make any effort at all. I decided to stop calling the person for a week or so, and learned that when left to their own devices, the person wouldn't try to make plans or anything. Thinking that I might be jumping to conclusions, I gave them another week. Still nothing and then months. I haven't seen or talked to them since, and it's because she wasn't willing to make the small amount of effort to keep up our friendship. It takes two to maintain a friendship, and a real friend will eventually call, no matter who usually calls first, just to make sure everything is okay.

You can tell if someone's a real friend or not if he or she notices when something is wrong. If you're not acting like yourself or seem unhappy, a real friend will pick up on it because he or she will be paying attention to your emotions and expressions. Someone who's just acting as your friend might not notice anything at all and act as if everything is normal because he or she doesn't really know you very well, or might not even really care whether or not you're feeling alright. A real friend can read your emotions, no matter how hard you try to conceal them, and will be genuinely concerned about you.

If someone's really your friend, he or she won't give up aiding you so easily. A real friend will try to move heaven and earth for you before throwing in the towel. This means that he or she won't limit him or herself to "conventional" methods to help you out, because conventional methods are easy, and when an easy action just doesn't cut it, you'll still need help and your friend should be there for you. Good friends won't give up when they're needed, because it's easy to pretend to be a friend and back out when things get tough; it's hard to get in the middle of a problem and work your way out.

The easiest way to tell if someone is really your friend is to attempt to have a really deep, meaningful conversation with him or her. Talk about a relationship, family matters, the future or illness, or something that you find yourself thinking about when you're alone. A real friend will actually get into the conversation because he or she knows that it means something to you, whereas a "pretend" friend will say you're acting strange and dismiss the conversation. Real friends don't mind being uncomfortable or emotional every once in a while, and this test is almost sure to weed-out the fakers.

REQUIRED YARD MANTENANCE

REQUIRED YARD MAINTENANCE

This is my view that I get to look at everyday in the summer and all year round really nicely maintained. The only time the yard work is done if there is a party or something else going on, maybe every couple of weeks.

These are the items that minimally need to be done on a regular basis during the growing months.

1) Cut your grass on a regular basis - once a week during the growing season
2) Edge your walkways, driveways and flower/tree beds - This prevents the grass and weeds from creeping into these locations
3) Weed Control - Chemical applications will take care of the weeds in your lawn. Hand pull or spray the weeds in the flower and tree beds.
4) Weed Eat around the mailbox, sides of the house and any street signs located on your property or right of way.
5) Refresh your pinestraw, mulch or other landscaping material in your tree and flower beds in the spring and fall.
6) DONT LEAVE GRASS CLIPPINGS IN THE STREET, DRIVEWAYS OR SIDEWALKS.

Bad time at CCHS

I had to drive to CCHS hospital on July 16th 2010 at 8:30PM and I was scared because I have COPD problems. I went to ER and I had a hard time talking and felt like someone was chocking me and left hung hurt. I was brought back to the treatment area and my blood pressure was taking. I then sat there for three long hours without any nebulizer treatments at this time it was 90°outside. Finely, I was taken to the doctor’s wing to be check over by a house doctor who did not come to see me for two hours. The first person I saw was a nurse name Judy which turns out I knew her. Thank god, she did her job as good a nurse would do she went out of her way my blood was taken and she had me started on my nebulizer treatments ASAP. When the doctor came in the look me over and check thing over and said you can stay for 23 hours so we can observed you, after that you we be discharged. The next doctor came in and said he did not like the way I was looking and had me moved up to the 5th floor for the next six days.
The first night, there was an altercation in the room next door to my room where security had to wrestle a guy and had him hand cuff to the bed. There were security guards hanging around making noise all night long. The second night in the same room there was a other guy in hand cuffs. He was brought in for overdoes of drugs and was so out of control that they removed him from the hospital. Just when I thought it could get worse it did a PCT aide named Kim was so rude that her name should be Rude in life. Yes I did have a good doctor who name Dr.R. G and did have three good RN nurses but the treatment that was given from other were so rude and non-Professional I felt I should had been in a dog kennel.

U of Penn ranked top 10 hospitals in the nation

PHILADELPHIA – For the third consecutive year, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) has been ranked among the top 10 hospitals in the nation in U.S.News & World Report’s rankings of the best hospitals in America. The publication’s annual ranking of hospitals placed HUP 9th out of the more than 4,800 facilities surveyed. HUP is the only hospital in the Philadelphia region, and one of only 14 hospitals nationwide, to be placed on the publication’s “Honor Roll” list in recognition of excellence in multiple specialties. The survey also breaks out the top hospitals in the nation according to 16 specialties. HUP ranked in the top 20 in 15 specialty categories: Cancer; Diabetes & Endocrinology; Ear, Nose, & Throat; Gastroenterology; Geriatrics; Gynecology; Heart & Heart Surgery; Kidney Disorders; Neurology & Neurosurgery; Ophthalmology; Orthopaedics; Psychiatry; Pulmonology; Rheumatology; and Urology.

In addition, Pennsylvania Hospital was ranked among the nation’s best for Orthopaedics.

Since 1990, U.S.News & World Report has published this annual special issue, which provides a ranking of hospital quality of care on a nationwide basis and is meant to help consumers make informed decisions when looking for hospital care. The survey evaluates hospitals based on factors such as mortality rate, procedure volume, patient safety, technology, nurse staffing, factors related to the individual specialties, and reputation among a group of randomly selected, board-certified physicians. This year, only 152 of the 4,852 hospitals scored high enough to rank in even a single specialty. To be on the “Honor Roll,” hospitals must be ranked very highly in at least six of the 16 specialties.

The complete guide appears in the August edition of the magazine. Rankings are also available online at www.usnews.com/besthospitals.

The Organ Transplant Waiting List!!

Some people don't have a clue about how many are on Transplant waiting list in the USA or other Counties.


The Organ Transplant Waiting List
In the United States, more than 84,000 men, women and children are waiting for organ transplants. Their struggle to live depends on a complex and technologically-advanced organ allocation system that links patients with organs donated by strangers.

Subjected to intense scrutiny by the federal government, the public, and the medical profession, no other aspect of modern medicine is more analyzed and debated. Such scrutiny is essential. Organ transplantation is built upon altruism and public trust. If anything shakes that trust, then everyone loses.

In 1984, the National Organ Transplant Act established the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN), a national organ sharing system to guarantee, among other things, fairness in the allocation of organs for transplant. Since 1984, the nonprofit United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) located in Richmond, Virginia, has operated the OPTN, under a contract with the Division of Transplantation in the Department of Health and Human Services. UNOS maintains a central computer network containing the names of all patients waiting for kidney, heart, liver, lung, intestine, pancreas and multiple-organ transplants; the UNOS "Organ Center" is staffed 24 hours a day to respond to requests to list patients, change status of patients, and help coordinate the placement of organs.

Organ transplantation is built upon altruism and public trust. If anything shakes that trust, then everyone loses.


Patients on the waiting list are in end-stage organ failure and have been evaluated by a transplant physician at hospitals in the U.S. where organ transplants are performed. Policies that dictate organ allocation are created and revised through a consensus-building process that involves UNOS committees and a board of directors, all composed of transplant physicians, government officials, specialists in immunology and experts in organ donation, as well as donor families, transplant recipients and members of the general public. Any proposed changes to the organ allocation rules are openly debated and published for public comment before being implemented.

Specifics of waiting list rules, which can be seen at OPTN website, vary by organ. General principles, such as a patient's medical urgency, blood, tissue and size match with the donor, time on the waiting list and proximity to the donor, guide the distribution of organs. Under certain circumstance, special allowances are made for children. For example, children under age 11 who need kidneys are automatically assigned additional points. Factors such as a patient's income, celebrity status, and race or ethnic background play no role in determining allocation of organs.

Contrary to popular belief, waiting on the list for a transplant is not like taking a number at the deli counter and waiting for your turn to order. In some respects, even the word "list" is misleading; the list is really a giant pool of patients. There is no ranking or patient order until there is a donor, because each donor's blood type, size and genetic characteristics are different. Therefore, when a donor is entered into the national computer system, the patients that match that donor, and therefore the "list," is different each time.

The other major guiding principal in organ allocation is: local patients first. The country is divided into 11 geographic regions, each served by a federally-designated organ procurement organization (OPO), which is responsible for coordinating all organ donations. With the exception of perfectly matched kidneys and the most urgent liver patients, first priority goes to patients at transplant hospitals located in the region served by the OPO. Next in priority are patients in areas served by nearby OPOs; and finally, only if no patients in these communities can use the organ, it is offered to patients elsewhere in the U.S.

Contrary to the image of organs always crisscrossing the country, 80 percent of all organs are donated and used in the same geographic area.


Such locally oriented allocation makes medical sense because less time between donor and recipient usually means more chance of a successful transplant as well as fewer logistical complications that could threaten the viability of the organ. Experience has shown, furthermore, that people are more likely to donate organs if they know that other people in their own community will benefit.

Thus, contrary to the image of organs always crisscrossing the country, 80 percent of all organs are donated and used in the same geographic area.

Of course, debates about organ allocation will continue as long as there is such a large gap between patients who need transplants and the number of organs donated. Who, for example, should get priority, people who are the sickest or those who have the greatest chance of surviving and achieving a long life? And what is the significance, if any, of someone's personal behavior? Should a much-needed heart go to a person who was a heavy smoker or a liver to someone who has suffered from alcoholism? These are difficult questions for which there are no easy answers.

The National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 also created the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, which is now maintained at the University of Michigan, also under contract to the Division of Transplantation. Through the Scientific Registry, patients can obtain hospital-specific information about transplant survival rates as well as the performance of regional OPOs. Because this registry extends back more than twenty years and has detailed records of treatments and outcomes for more than 200,000 organ recipients, transplantation is by far the best-documented aspect of modern medicine.