Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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Football sign: air risen to the front of the diaphragm creating a football appearance
Small bowel obstruction: >5cm distended small bowel. Centrally located, valvulae
coniventes (spanning the whole diameter of the small bowel). Commonest causes:
adhesions, Crohns, tumours, hernias.
Large bowel obstruction: >6cm colon, >9cm caecum. Peripherally located, haustra
(not spanning full diameter of bowel). Commonest causes: CRC, diverticular disease,
hernias, volvulus, pseudoobstruction (no mechanical cause but presents the same,
mostly in the elderly)
Volvulus- commonest types
o Sigmoid volvulus: sigmoid twists at its own mesentry in LIF. Coffee bean sign
pointing towards diaphragm.
o Caecum volvulus: 20% have a congenital malformation that means can twist
on its own mesentry.
Thumb-printing: mucosal thickening of haustral heads and increased space
between bowel= inflammatory bowel disease. (Colitis of any cause, most common of
which is IBD).
Lead pipe colon: loss of normal haustra in transverse colon= longstanding UC
Toxic megacolon: dilatation of bowel in absence of obstruction and presence of
acute bowel disease. Causes: IBD esp UC, colitis of other cause eg infection
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Practice question: A 27 year old woman presents to A&E with vomiting and abdominal
pain. She previously had surgery for bowel obstruction. The below AXR is taken. Please
practice present the XR and give a differential for your findings.
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Model answer
- This is a supine AP abdominal XR taken of MW DOB 1/1/1980 HN 5768958, on the
12/1/2016 at 11.06.
- It displays a view from the lower thoracic cavity to the ischial spines of the pelvis.
This is an inadequate view as I would like to visualize the hemidiaphragms to the
hernial orifices.
- Examining the bowel first I can see a central area of distended bowel with the
appearance of valvulae coniventes. This is likely to be small bowel. I cannot visualize
the stomach or the large bowel.
- Examining the area of the liver, spleen, kidneys, and psoas muscles there are no
abnormalities displayed.
- There appears to be no bony injuries of the visible ribs, vertebrae or pelvic crests.
- There are no abnormal calcifications, however in the right upper quadrant there
appears to be evidence of previous surgery. There are no additional artefacts.
- In summary this is a supine AP abdominal XR taken of .. on ... with the main positive
findings being that there appears to be small bowel distension caused by small bowel
obstruction. There is evidence of previous abdominal surgery which could indicate an
anastamosis. In this context and a history of previous bowel obstruciton, a likely
cause could be adhesions causing obstruction. Additional differentials would include
Crohns disease, hernias and tumours.
Abnormal soft tissues and bones:
- Organomegaly- spleen and liver
- Hydronephroiss
- Masses
- Fractures and OA
- Bone mets
- Pagets disease- expansion and coarsening of trabecular pattern
Abnormal calcifications:
- renal calcification
- nephrocalcinosis
- ureteric calcification
- bladder stones (urinary stasis)
- vascular calcification
- AAA- if wall calcified
- Chronic pancreatitis with calcification
- Adrenal gland calcification
- Gallstones and mesenteric LN calcification
Artefacts
- IVC filters
- Pigtail/JJ stents
- Foreign bodies
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Complications of fractures
Early complications
Wound infection
Fat embolism
Compartment syndrome
ARDS
Chest infection
DIC
Exacerbate general illness
Late complications
Deformity
OA
Aseptic necrosis
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
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Practice question 1:
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Model answer
- Displayed are radiographs taken of DB DOB HN at 14:30 on 5/1/2016. The
radiographs show an AP and a lateral view of the left wrist displaying a view from the
metacarpals, carpal bones and distal half of the forearm.
- There is adequate penetration and an adequate view of the wrist.
- There is a transverse fracture that can be seen at the distal radius above the level of
the radioulnar joint with dorsal angulation and displacement of the hand. There is
notably no ulnar fracture. I cannot see any other bony injuries.
- There is soft tissue swelling surrounding the wrist, most notably on the ventral side.
- There are no other findings.
- In summary this is a lateral and an AP radiograph taken of the left wrist of on
at Main positive findings are a transverse fracture of the distal radius above the
level of the radioulnar joint and no associated ulnar styloid fractures. This is therefore
a frykman type 1 fracture. There is dorsal displacement of the hand and surrounding
soft tissue swelling.
- This is consistent with a colles fracture.
- Management of this fracture would include
o A thorough DR ABCDE assessment
o Taking a full history paying particular attention to the mechanism of injury and
full examination looking for any other injuries
o The patient will require analgesia and then will likely be managed
conservatively although I would like orthopaedic input.
o Treatment of the fracture would include
Reduction, immobilization and rehabilitation
Following reduction, immobilization would likely be carried out with
POP cast and then follow up in fracture clinic.
Further investigation into bone density would be important in the OP
setting.
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Practice question 2:
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Model answer
- These radiographs display an AP and lateral view of the R ankle of JH DOB HN.
They are taken on the at
- The radiographs show views of the distal third of the lower tibia and fibula to the
proximal metatarsal bones. This is an inadequate view as I would also like to
visualize the proximal tibia and fibula.
- There film is of adequate quality.
- There are a number of fractures visible, I will describe each in turn:
o There is a transverse fracture of the medial malleolus which appears
minimally displaced inferiorly.
o There appears to be a fracture of the distal tibia which on lateral view can be
determined to be a posterior malleolus fracture that is posteriorly displaced.
o There is also a spiral fracture of the fibula above the level of the tibio-fibular
syndesmosis.
o The talus is displaced posteriorly and laterally in addition to the lateral and
medial malleolus bone fragments.
o The joint space is widened anteriorly and at the tibio-fibular syndesmosis with
lateral talar shift which indicates that the joint in unstable.
- As mentioned I would like to visualize the proximal fibula to determine whether there
could be a Maisonneuve fracture.
- In summary, these are AP and lateral radiographs showing the R ankle of JH taken
on There are 3 visible fractures involving both medial and lateral malleoli, with talar
shift and unequal joint space resulting in an unstable joint. I would like an additional
proximal view including the proximal fibula. Management of this fracture would
include:
o DR ABCDE
o Full history and examination paying particular attention to the neurovascular
status of the foot.
o Analgesia
o Orthopaedic input as this is a complex fracture picture and is likely to require
surgery for definitive treatment. This could consist of internal or external
fixation.
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http://jbjs.org/content/80/4/582
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Hyperkalaemia
ECG changes
1. Tall tented T waves
2. Sine wave appearance
3. Absent/small P waves
4. Broad QRS
5. VF
Presents
- Muscle cramps and weakness
- Lethargy
- Palpitations
Presents
- Arrhythmias
- Palpitations
- Chest pain
- Constipation
- Weakness
Causes:
1. DRUGS
a. Insulin
b. Salbutamol
c. Loops and thiazide diuretics
d. Laxatives
e. Steroids
2. Endocrine
a. Cushings
b. Conns
3. GI
a. Diarrhoea and vomiting
b. Villous adenoma- profuse
diarrhoea
4. Renal
a. Gitelmans syndrome
b. Barterrs syndrome
c. Liddles syndrome
Causes
1. DRUGS
a. Spironolactone
b. ACEi
c. Suxamethonium
d. Blood transfusion
e. Excessive K replacement
2. Endocrine
a. Addisons disease
b. DM with metabolic acidosis
3. Renal
a. Rhabdomyolysis
b. RTA4
4. Other
a. Burns
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Hypernatraemia
Presents
- Lethargy
- Thirst
- Weakness
- Irritability
- Confusion
- Seizures
- Coma and death
Causes
1. Diarrhoea, vomiting, burns
2. DI
3. Diabetic coma
4. Iatrogenic- excessive saline
Management
1. PO water
2. 5% dextrose IV slowly (if
hypovolemic can give 0.9% saline)
3. (Risks fluid shift in brain if
changed too quickly)
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Hypercalcaemia
Presents: SPASMODIC
- Spasms- Trousseaus sign
- Perioral parasthesia
- Anxious, irritable, irrational
- Seizures
- Muscle tone increased- smooth
muscle eg wheeze
- Orientation impairment
- Dermatitis
- Impetigo herpetiformis
- Chvosteks sign/ cataracts/ CM/
choreoathetosis
Causes:
1. DRUGS
a. Furosemide
2. Hypoparathyroidism
3. Pseudohypoparathyroidism
4. Vitamin D deficiency
5. Acute pancreatitis
6. Acute rhabdomyolysis
Causes
1. DRUGS
a. Thiazides
b. Vitamin D
2. Malignancy
3. Primary hyperparathyroidism
Management
- Mild symptoms: PO calcium
- Kidney disease: alfacalcidol
- Severe symptoms: 10ml 10% calcium
gluconate
- Monitor patient with ECG
Management
1. Correct dehydration
2. Bisphosphonates e.g.: 60 mg
pamidronate infusion
3. Furosemide (although dehydration
may worsen hypercalcaemia!)
4. Monitor patient with ECG
5. Early involvement of endocrine
team
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