This adjective is part of the definition of several diseases and is, therefore, incorporated in their name, for instance, severe acute respiratory syndrome Severe acute respiratory syndrome is a respiratory disease in humans which is caused by the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). There has been one near pandemic to date, between the months of November 2002 and July 2003, with 8,096 known infected cases and 12 confirmed human deaths (a case-fatality rate of .00148%) worldwide being listed in the World, acute leukemia Leukemia or leukaemia (Standard English; Greek leukos λευκός, "white"; aima αίμα, "blood") is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of blood cells, usually leukocytes (white blood cells). Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases. In turn, it is part of the even.
The term acute may often be confused by the general public to mean 'severe'. This however, is a different characteristic and something can be acute but not severe.
Acute hospitals are those intended for short-term medical and/or surgical treatment and care. The related medical speciality is called acute medicine.
Subacute is defined as between acute and chronic, for example subacute fever symptoms or subacute endocarditis Endocarditis is an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, the endocardium. It usually involves the heart valves . Other structures which may be involved include the interventricular septum, the chordae tendineae, the mural endocardium, or even on intracardiac devices. Endocarditis is characterized by a prototypic lesion, the vegetation,. An example is subacute sclerosing panencephalitis Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is a rare chronic, progressive encephalitis that affects primarily children and young adults, caused by a persistent infection of immune resistant measles virus (which can be a result of a mutation of the virus itself). 1 in 100,000 people infected with measles develop SSPE. SSPE is 'incurable' but the condition, a rare brain disease characterized by diminished intellectual function and loss of nervous function.
Chronic is the opposite of acute - meaning a long term condition, for example chronic bronchitis Chronic bronchitis is a chronic inflammation of the bronchi in the lungs. It is generally considered one of the two forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is defined clinically as a persistent cough that produces sputum (phlegm) and mucus, for at least three months in two consecutive years. Chronic may also be confused by the general public to mean severe. Once again, this is a different definition medically and something can be chronic but not severe.
Acute Medicine is defined as the early and specialist management of adult patients suffering from a wide range of medical conditions requiring urgent or emergent care usually within 48 hours of admission or referral from other specialties.
See also
- Idiopathic Idiopathic is an adjective used primarily in medicine meaning arising spontaneously or from an obscure or unknown cause. From Greek ἴδιος, idios + πάθος, pathos (suffering), it means approximately "a disease of its own kind". It is technically a term from nosology, the classification of disease. For some medical conditions,
- Chronic pain Chronic pain has several different meanings in medicine. Traditionally, the distinction between acute and chronic pain has relied upon an arbitrary interval of time from onset; the two most commonly used markers being 3 months and 6 months since the initiation of pain, though some theorists and researchers have placed the transition from acute to
Categories: Medical terms |
Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:19:45 GMT+00:00
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