Publications by authors named "Vihitha Thota"

The prevalence of cancer continues to grow globally every year. With therapeutic advances over the recent decades, the prevalence of individuals living with cancer continues to increase. Internal medicine residents can see patients admitted to the hospital for cancer-related emergencies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

With the development of more sensitive screening tools, malignancies are being diagnosed at an earlier stage, resulting in earlier intervention and longer survival times. As a consequence, the long-term complications of cancer therapy are increasing in incidence, particularly second primary cancers from radiation therapy. Bladder and colorectal cancers are the most commonly reported malignancies secondary to radiation therapy for prostate cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A commonly seen phenomenon in the hospital and critical care setting is anaphylaxis. This acute systemic inflammatory reaction can lead to anaphylactic shock in severe cases and potentially be fatal. The role of platelets in anaphylactic reactions is not well established; however, platelets, among other mediators such as platelet-activating factor, have been shown to promote a prothrombotic state shortly after an acute hypersensitivity reaction.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) is a rare cause of profound anemia, marked by very low reticulocyte count and near to complete absence of erythroid precursor cells in the bone marrow. PRCA can be congenital such as in the case of children with Diamond- Blackfan anemia or acquired, which is often triggered by exposure to certain viruses or drugs. Management depends on the underlying etiology of PRCA.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Lactate, or lactic acid, is an end-product of anaerobic metabolism. The build-up of lactate in the body is commonly due to type A lactic acidosis, resulting from an inability to meet the body's oxygen delivery demands. When lactic acidosis persists, other causes need to be ruled out.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignancies, often detected at later stages as patients remain asymptomatic until later stages. Pernicious anemia (PA), a well-known cause of vitamin B12 deficiency, is a classic risk factor for gastric cancer. Patients with PA usually present with megaloblastic anemia and peripheral neuropathy; however, they can also present with nonspecific symptoms.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A chalazion is a swollen bump on the eyelid that occurs when the eyelid's oil gland clogs up. Bortezomib is an FDA-approved novel agent for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Recently, there have been a few case reports on the possible association between eyelid chalazion and bortezomib therapy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Determine family-centered methods of providing organ donation education to families in ICU waiting rooms.

Materials And Methods: We performed a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews and quantitative analysis of paper surveys of family members of 118 ICU patients in the acute ICU setting.

Results: Twelve interviews and 152 surveys (66% response rate) were completed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF