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
PANCE BLUEPRINT REVIEW PROFESSIONAL
Physician Remediation and Continuing Professional Development.Pediatrics – CME Disclosures & Objectives.NCCPA Certification Maintenance Requirements.AAPA CME – Earn Self-Assessment Credits.ABFM Family Medicine Board Review Resources.Your Guide to ABFM Continuous Certification Requirements.The Ultimate Internal Medicine Study Guide.ABIM Internal Medicine Review Resources.Taking the Internal Medicine Board Exam.How NEJM Knowledge+ Improves Exam Scores.Patients with refractory symptoms due to inherent defects may need a tricuspid valve replacement. Valvular repair may be indicated in patients with tricuspid valve endocarditis. Severe cases require regular monitoring by a cardiologist. Spironolactone may be used if ascites is present along with severe tricuspid regurgitation. Severe tricuspid regurgitation may require IV diuretics such as torsemide. Moderate tricuspid regurgitation warrants a cardiology consult. Patients with mild or moderate tricuspid regurgitation may be managed with oral diuretics (e.g., furosemide). Since most cases of tricuspid regurgitation are secondary, treatment of the underlying cause should be considered first. Valvular regurgitations are classified as mild, moderate, or severe based on a variety of measurements obtained from diagnostic measures. Definitive diagnostic methods for tricuspid regurgitation include echocardiography and cardiac catheterization. ECG findings include right-axis deviation, P wave changes indicating right atrial enlargement, and R and S wave changes indicating right ventricular hypertrophy. Chest radiography may show an enlarged right heart border. It is best heard at the left lower sternal border and radiates to the right lower sternal border. On cardiac auscultation, tricuspid regurgitation is a pansystolic murmur that becomes louder with inspiration and reduced with expiration or Valsalva maneuver. Signs of severe tricuspid regurgitation are associated with systemic venous congestion and include distended, pulsating neck veins, a pulsatile enlarged liver, and anasarca. As tricuspid regurgitation persists, right-sided cardiomegaly, systemic venous congestion, and eventually right-sided heart failure ensue. Pacemaker lead placement is an increasingly common iatrogenic cause of tricuspid regurgitation.
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Common causes of tricuspid regurgitation include congenital abnormalities of the tricuspid valve, structural abnormalities resulting from infection, and chronic pulmonary hypertension. The underlying pathophysiology is a right-sided pressure overload leading to right-sided heart failure. Tricuspid regurgitation is a valvular disorder that occurs when there is retrograde blood flow from the right ventricle to the right atrium during systole.
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