Holiday Time!

Back to work. We had another patient with a huge pericardial effusion (probably 4L), which allowed another opportunity to teach a resident echo-guided techniques for tapping the fluid, almost certainly tuberculous. The residents are enthusiastic about learning to use their skills (all are excellent IV starters, blood drawers, para- and thoracentesis performers) to do this technique....much of the anxiety about where the needle and catheter are going is relieved with seeing the effusion and obvious entry point by direct echo imaging. I followed up by giving another of my Monday PM talks on pericardial disease and pathophysiology of tamponade. Pictured here are 4 of the 5 residents (I'm the pale one in the back) with whom I have enjoyed working over the past 2.5 months.
We spent the evening at Matt Dasco's house (he's Penn Internal Medicine Faculty, and his wife Premal is a Baylor-employed internist) celebrating Passover with Gaborone's most ecumenical seder (4 of 20 participants were Jewish!). All had a great time. Barbara's matzoh-ball soup and sponge cake were greatly enjoyed and Dayenu was a big hit!