Practical Pointers: Discover Shortcuts Devised by Colleagues (April 2005)

Unexplained Abdominal Pain? Think Shingles When a patient presents with unilateral abdominal pain, always consider shingles—especially if the patient is elderly. The pain may persist for a week or more before the rash begins. Tell the patient that the rash associated with shingles usually starts on the back. He or she may notice it sooner and, therefore, may seek treatment earlier. — D. Brady Pregerson, MD Los Angeles   Get Labeled To save time, decrease writing, reduce pharmacy calls, and ensure that specimens are properly labeled, link your patient database to a dedicated label printer and keep 6 to 10 labels on each patient’s chart. Instead of writing a patient’s name on a prescription or specimen jar, simply peel off a label and affix it to the object in question. — John Machata, MD North Kingston, RI   Mini Pads Protect Against Rectal Post-op Bleeding Instead of recommending that patients use gauze to protect their underwear after rectal surgery, tell them to try self-adhering feminine hygiene mini pads. Gauze is bulky and tends to slip around. In addition, blood-soaked gauze can increase the risk of infection to the incisional area. Self-adhering mini pads not only stay in place, but they also keep moisture away from the wound by capturing the blood in the absorbent inner layer. Note that the pads may also be used after cystoscopy and prostate surgery (once the catheter has been removed). — Sheryl Stone Clay, RN, BSN, BA Mason, Ohio   Keep Patients With Chondromalacia on Track I use an analogy to help patients understand patellofemoral syndrome (chondromalacia). I ask them to imagine a sliding closet door that always goes off its tracks. The door won’t work well until the track is fixed. Similarly, by strengthening the vastus medialis obliquus muscles with exercises, one can fix the “door track” of the knee so that it can function properly again. — Lawrence Adler, MD Beverly Hills, Calif