Internal Medicine: Pulmonology Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering pulmonology topics including obstructive/restrictive diseases, pneumonia pathogens, TB management, and malignancy based on rotation review notes.

Obstructive Lung Disease

A classification of lung diseases, such as asthma, characterized by a "ball valve effect" where air can enter the alveoli during inhalation but becomes trapped by obstructions like mucus plugs during exhalation.

Vital Capacity

The total amount of usable air in a full breath, calculated as the sum of the tidal volume, inspiratory reserve volume, and expiratory reserve volume.

$$FEV_1/FVC$$

The primary measurement used to assess the severity of obstructive lung diseases like asthma and COPD.

Mild Persistent Asthma

Asthma severity characterized by symptoms less than $2$ days per week, SABA use greater than $2$ days per week (but not daily), and nocturnal awakenings occurring $1$ to $4$ times per month.

Moderate Persistent Asthma

Asthma severity characterized by daily symptoms, daily rescue SABA use, and nocturnal awakenings occurring weekly.

SABA

Short-acting beta agonist, such as Albuterol, used as a rescue medication for bronchodilation.

LABA

Long-acting beta $2$ agonist, such as Salmeterol or Formoterol, used as a controller medication.

SAMA

Short-acting muscarinic antagonist, such as Ipratropium (Atrovent), which acts as a parasympathetic antagonist to prevent bronchospasm.

Inhaled Corticosteroids (ICS)

Anti-inflammatory medications like Fluticasone, Beclomethasone, and Budesonide that require patients to rinse their mouth after use to prevent oral thrush (Candidiasis).

MAT (Multifocal Atrial Tachycardia)

A cardiac arrhythmia known to be a side effect of the medication Theophylline.

Chronic Bronchitis

A clinical diagnosis defined by a chronic productive cough for $3$ months out of the year for $2$ consecutive years.

Core Pulmonale

Right-sided heart failure resulting from an alteration in the structure and function of the right ventricle caused by a primary respiratory disorder.

Blue Bloaters

A nickname for patients with chronic bronchitis who exhibit elevated hemoglobin, peripheral edema, and cyanosis.

Emphysema

An irreversible obstructive disease characterized by alveolar wall destruction due to the release of elastase from neutrophils and macrophages.

Pink Puffers

A nickname for patients with emphysema who are often cachectic (thin), exhibit "barrel chesting," and use tripoding to assist breathing.

GOLD (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease)

The international staging system used to manage and categorize the severity of COPD.

PPD positive threshold: $> 5\,mm$

The measurement of induration considered positive for TB in patients who are very immunosuppressed (e.g., HIV) or have been in close contact with a TB patient.

PPD positive threshold: $> 10\,mm$

The measurement of induration considered positive for TB in patients who are foreign-born or IV drug users.

RIPE Therapy

The four-drug regimen for Tuberculosis consisting of Rifampin, Isoniazid, Pyrazinamide, and Ethambutol.

Ethambutol side effect

The TB medication ethambutol is specifically associated with the development of optic neuritis.

Pots disease

The name given to Tuberculosis when it affects the bones and joints, specifically causing issues in the thoracic spine.

Typical Pneumonia bugs

The three primary causes of typical community-acquired pneumonia: Strep pumo (gram-positive), H flu (gram-negative), and MCAT (gram-negative).

Atypical Pneumonia bugs

Organisms that lack a traditional cell wall, often remembered by the mnemonic "Mike's clam legs": Mycoplasma, Chlamydia, and Legionella.

FAT/FAD mnemonic

The three categories of antibiotics used to treat atypical pneumonia: Fluoroquinolones, Azithromycin (macrolides), and Tetracyclines (specifically Doxycycline).

Klebsiella pneumonia

A gram-negative cause of pneumonia frequently associated with the buzzword "currant jelly sputum."

Pneumocystis jirovecii

A fungal cause of pneumonia in the HIV population that is treated with sulfonamides such as Bactrim.

Histoplasmosis

A fungal pneumonia found in the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys, often linked to bird or bat droppings in the soil.

Coccidioidomycosis

A fungal infection found in the Grand Canyon/Arizona region, often caused by dust disturbed during military maneuvers.

Erythema nodosum

A skin rash commonly associated with Sarcoidosis, a restrictive lung disease that also presents with elevated ACE levels.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC)

A centrally located non-small cell lung cancer characterized by cavitary lesions, keratin pearls, and hypercalcemia.

Oat Cell Cancer

Another name for Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Normal Mean Pulmonary Artery Pressure

A physiological pressure range between $9$ and $17\,mmHg$.

MRSA mnemonic

A memory aid for antibiotics covering MRSA: Vancomycin (M/V shape), Rifampin (R), Doxycycline/Tetracycline (S/cycle shape), and Clindamycin (A/Abraham Lincoln).