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The OSCEs are standardized stations where specific history, examination and thinking skills are going to be assessed. The RCGP have provided for the international MRCGP five main areas or domains that are being tested for in the OSCEs. These are probably as equally applicable to the nMRCGP CSA section as well. To make life easier and, God Willing, help you pass try and learn what I call trigger phrases, these will trigger the examiner to record a tick in the particular domain that they are assessing you during the exam. If you do it well and have practiced, practiced and practiced then you should get a high score. One thing I recommend strongly is putting yourself under test conditions and get someone who has experience with the MRCGP to mark you, and video yourself and marl yourself and see how you can improve your technique and the flow of the consultation. In the following table I have listed a natural flow for a consultation and the key trigger phrases that you need to adopt. Of course your trigger phrase may be different to the one table but make sure it is triggering the right OSCE domain. All the best with your exams!
Verbal
Hi, I am doctor Abc.
Body language
Smile, nod, lean forward slightly to show interest but look professional
OSCE Domains
A: courtesy consideration
Take a history
Again nod you head and look as you are interested in what the patient has to say, look at the patient not anywhere else! Listen carefully Encourage the patient. You mentioned Listen for the cues, Hunt for the hidden diagnosis (pain/ walking the role playing if the history is nebulous or difficulty/ patients will give psychiatric. If the patient dizziness / thirst/ them and expect provides a problem assess chest discomfort / you to pick them their iedas by asking them breathing up! Remember the what they think is the cause, problems etc), can patients will be they might think eczema is you tell me a bit talking in contagious hence they are not more about it? laymans going out in which case you Is there anything language. can address their worries or else on your The actors will try correct through education mind? Are you and look their ideas. If after 1 minute worried about uncomfortable or you can see they are anything else? hesitate this is a rambling and they pause this [Concerns] What cue to a hidden is probably a heart sink do you think is agenda, they may
B: sensitivity to patient, facilitates free expression of ICE (ideas, concerns and expectations) C: Good communication skills E: Considers implications for the patient and others.
patient and you need to ask what their expectations are so you can work out what they want you to do?
You have a diagnosis in mind, think is anything serious, ask the important questions, red flags, things that will sift important from less important. Think red flags: Upper GI: weight loss, dysphagia. Lower GI: Change in bowel habits >6w Resp: Weight loss, sweating at night, cough >2 weeks. Cauda equine lesion: weaknes, bladder bowel control loss, pain raditing to tip of toe etc. Check the NICE fast track referral guidelines! Ask the socio-economic impact of the problem. Examine appropriately, dont do a full exam, concentrate on the bits you need, and dont miss postural hypotension if they are dizzy!
causing it? [Ideas]. What would you like me to do for you today? What would you like to see happen today? [Expectations] Back pain: Do you have numbness in between your legs. Any problems with passing urine such as difficulty controlling it? Clarify difficult questions. Is this affecting your life or work? Do you find it difficult to deal with the children?
avoid eye contact or say something like There was something else but its not important.
Use your fingers to demonstrate what you mean by in between. Try and use body language to help your questions.
Diagnosis Make your diagnosis, and add 2 differentials if appropriate. If the diagnosis is obvious just state it and do not add differentials unless the patient asks could it be anything else. Dont forget to rule out any concerns that patient had said at the beginning. Dont forget to assess for understanding at the end by asking for any questions.
I would like to examine your back / hands is that okay? I will need you to (mention what you need them to do) Let me explain what I think, From what you have said and the exam I think you have A or B or C. I think A is likely but we will need to do some tests to work out if it is A or B or C. Let me explain what A is You mentioned
Pause after asking permission! Demonstrate the exam procedure if simple with your own body, i.e. position your hands etc.
Management Start with the least expensive (show correct resource management), and offer a couple of options quickly explain the pros and cons of each and then hand over to the patient. Be prepared to negotiate i.e. I want CBT and medication say we have limited resources and we should try one and then the other
you were worried about skin cancer, I can reassure you that this is not related to skin cancer but is eczema. Do you have any questions? For the depression we can use talking therapies or medications or herbal therapies. Talking therapies work as well but take time, tablets work quickly while herbal remedies can work but can also be unpredictable. What would you like to do? Let me summarise so I am sure I have explained things well: You have depression. Well treat it with an anti-depressant which is one tablet per day. I would like to review in one week to see how you are getting along. If you have any problems dont hesitate to come back and see on the on call doctors or if it out of hours one of the out of hours services. Just one more thing I would like to add: have you had your cervical smear /
C: Negotiates management of patient. Involves them in decision. D: Treats and investigates appropriately, offers range of options, safe prescribing.
You could write down basic points on a sheet of paper and give them to the patient. Your prescriptions will be assessed so write fully and
do you smoke? (if they say yes) Could we please talk more about this, could you book an appointment in the next few weeks whenever is convenient?
Womens health case (Contraception, PMB) Mens health (ED, LUTS) Infectious disease Case (TB, Pneumonia) Psychiatry case (Depression, GAD or OCD) Bad news (Cancer) Difficult patient (I want screening, I want my partner to be sterlised, Complain about your colleague etc.) 10. Drug problems (EOH, Side effects, hidden agenda) 11. Neuro (CTS, CVA) 12. MSK (Back, shoulder, knee, carpal tunnel, OA) 13. Skin (Eczema, psoriasis, fungal infection) 14. GI (IBS, change of bowel habit) 15. Resp (Asthma, COPD) 16. Joker (anything) 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. If you stick to the basic method given here of asking questions getting information, exploring idea and addressing patients ICE then you should be able to deal with category 16. If you still want to read a list of cases then it will God willing be here: http://sites.google.com/site/mrcgpcases/ (
to keeping confidentiality in the abscence of permission. If two patients come together, you can always ask one to step out of the room for a short while, take permission from the other or ask any potentially embarassing questions: i.e. have you had sexual partners etc. D Duty : Duty of care to the patient, yourself (you do not have to be at the back and call of someone and you can let them know that there are certain procedures and hours and these should be followed), staff (sticking to general guidelines or working practices in your surgery), and society (resources, not misuring them etc.) E Equity Being equal with your resources between patients.
Should pregnant mothers be vaccinated against influenza? Should pregnant mothers be vaccinated against influenza?
This is currently a recommendation in the USA and Canada across all trimesters, but the uptake of this vaccine in the USA is only 16% indicating reluctance amongst pregnant ladies and health professionals. I must admit to being one of the reluctant health professionals and decided to read up on the matter. An article in the Lancet Infectious Diseases reviewing influenza vaccine in pregnancy by Mak et al in January 2008 provided a very good summary of the data concerning this topic so far. It was titled Influenza vaccination in pregnancy: current evidence and selected national policies I have summarised the article in a Q & A format with my own comments in italics.
a. Comparing the peri-influenza season to the influenza season from 1974-93 there was an excess rate of admission due to cardio-respiratory illness in hospitalised pregnant women. The excess rates per 10,000 were x3 x6 x10 for first, second and third trimesters respectively. Compared to non-pregnant women who had a rate of 1.91. This data was based on Medicaid data, which has a greater representation of lower socioeconomic groups and increased smokers. Again the data was examining hospital admission and not identifying influenza per se, but it could be argued that comparing this to a similar time in the year should cancel out the possibility of confounders (i.e. other respiratory infections which also occur at an increased rate during winter seasons). b. Data from Nova Scotia and a higher socio-economic group did not correlate with the figures given above. The excess rate of hospital admissions comparing a influenza and noninfluenza season were 1.1 (-0.1 to 2.3), 0.4 (-1.1 to 1.9) and 2.0 (-0.3 to 4.3) for the three trimesters when comparing pregnant to non-pregnant women. All the data sets had a range which extended across 0 implying that it was within the range of error rendering these results non-significant. An alternative conclusion is tht women from a high socio-economic background are not disadvantaged by influenza infection during pregnancy. c. Other data from Washington US HMO databases looked for the incidence of influenza like illnesses and the excess rates of consultations between pregnant and non-pregnant ladies. The excess rates of consultation were: 5.8, 9.8, 14.1 and 11 for the three successive trimesters and post-partum. Only 5.4 % of these consultations were classed as severe. Consultations marked as influenza-like illness are likely to be a poor surrogate marker for influenza. The data also mirrors the data from Tenesse Medicaid data (3a) and makes you wonder what the socioeconomic group was. d. Data from Oregon examined the number of outpatient visits for acute respiratory diseases in pregnant v non-pregnant women across four years 1975/6/8/9. In 1978 when a previously non-circulating strain H1N1 resurfaced the excess rate of medical visits by pregnant women was 48. No excess was shown for pregnant women during the other years of the study when H3N2 was predominant. Again influenza is being bunched together with other respiratory diseases which detracts from this data set. Acute respiratory diseases included all the following: influenza, pneumonia, URTI and respiratory symptoms. Bearing the above point, it seems pregnant ladies during years of pandemics where new strains are circulating may be at more risk than non-pregnant ladies. The converse also holds true, pregnant ladies during normal seasonal influenza are not at increased risk.
b. There was 10 fold increased rate of admissions of asthmatic pregnant women v nonasthmatic pregnant women during an influenza season. Again this looks at a surrogate marker rather than influenza. c. Novo Scotia 1990-2002 Pregnant ladies with one or more co-morbidities, compared influenza attributable hospital admissions between pregnant mothers with and without influenza. 3.9 (-6.4 to 14), 6.7 (-4.1 to 17) and 35.6 (21 to 50) in the three trimesters. The results are only significant in the third trimester, and again the influenza attributable hospital admissions is imprecise.
The implication from studies (a) and (b) is that neonates will be afforded protection during the first 6 months of life by vaccinating pregnant mothers. But if study (c) is taken into account the event rate, in a group more reflective of the population as a whole, is lower in the age group (0-6 months) hence the early benefits are mitigated especially as the half-life of IgG is only 45 days.
b. In another study 2991 mothers were vaccinated in T 1/2/3 with a follow up of 1 year for malignancies or increased cancer mortality at 4 years, no significant associations were found. c. 1976-77 study looked at 41 mothers vaccinated in T1 and compared them to nonvaccinated mothers. The infants were followed upto 8 weeks for evidence of neurodevelopmental problems and no association was found. A side effect rate of <3% was found to the mothers (fever, headache, and myalgia). d. 1998-2003 A Texas study, looked at 252 vaccinated pregnant mothers and compared them non-vaccinated mothers and looked at the hospitalization rate of infants 6 months after their birth. No significant association was found. e. 2004-5 A study looked at 1006 vaccinated pregnant mothers and compared them to 1495 unvaccinated pregnant mothers and no serious event in pregnancy was found. f. 1976 Study examined 45 pregnant mothers vaccinated in T3, no side effects noted. The safety studies are clearly positive and encouraging, but are limited by the number of women in each study and the limited duration of follow up or non-specific outcomes in many.
serious adverse associations with drugs such as Thalidomide. Where association is weak but positive the power of a study to pick up such an association may not be possible to perform and therefore any link will technically lie unproven. The Yellow Card data while difficult to interpret cannot be wholly ignored.
Summary
(1,2) Pregnant women are exposed to the influenza virus, but the case for their increased mortality is based on inadequate data. (3) As for an increased morbidity most of the cited studies are looking at non-specific outcome measures such as consultations, or admissions to hospital for cardio-respiratory disease and are thus limited. Though of note are the increased incidence in lower socio-economic groups and when new strains of the influenza virus are seen circulating. This is most pronounced in the third trimester. (4) While the odds ratios for adverse pregnancy outcomes is significantly positive with respiratory disease inside and outside of the influenza season it is limited again by the non-specific nature of the outcome measures. (5) For women with co-morbidities the rates of admission are more pronounced in the influenza season vs the non-influenza season but suffer from the same imprecision in outcome measures. (6) Pregnant women seem to have a much higher mortality if affected by pneumonia during a pandemic, but again this data is not consistent across al pandemics. (7) There is scant data of any quality to claim an adverse effect on the fetus during maternal infection by the influenza virus. (8) The presumed benefits of maternal vaccination to neonates is potentially present but has to be balanced by the fact that vast majority of infants are not affected by influenza in the primary care setting. (9a) The vaccine is immunologically effective but the evidence of its clinical benefit to the infant post-birth is unclear. (10) The safety studies to date are limited to either 7 years or measuring unclear outcomes, hence the lack of a significant result should be viewed with caution. (11) The Yellow Card data while difficult to interpret cannot be wholly ignored. Finally the German statement on the incomplete data on the safety of the vaccine speaks volumes.
probable but small and the harms while improbable and serious. Weighing the two up the pendulum would swing towards giving it especially in the case of pregnant, from a low socioeconomic background with the background of a circulating pandemic with a new strain, in which case I would give the vaccine at the end of T2. And the pendulum swings back to the opposite corner if the pregnant mother is from a relatively high socio-economic background in the absence of a pandemic or a newly circulating strain of the influenza virus. As for the cases in between these two poles the decision is to be made on an individual clinical basis. But to my mind the first Hippocratic principle of Do no harm would make the absence of vaccination my preferred choice. Abbreviations Used T1 Trimester 1 T2 Trimester 2 T3 Trimester 3 Ads by Google
Posted in Vaccinations | Tags: efficacy of influenza vaccine, Fetal risk from influenza, immunisation against influenza in pregnant mothers, Neonatal risk from influenza, pregnant mothers, risk of pregnant mothers in pandemics, safety of the influenza vaccine, Yellow Card data influenza vaccine Is sertraline safe in breast feeding? How to pass the international MRCGP OSCE cheat sheet
yWomen who plan to breastfeed must be informed that all psychotropic medications, including antidepressants, are secreted into breast milk. Concentrations in breast milk vary widely. yData on the use of tricyclic antidepressants, fluoxetine, sertraline, and paroxetine during breastfeeding are encouraging, and serum antidepressant levels in the breastfed infant are either low or undetectable. Reports of toxicity in breastfed infants are rare, although the long-term effects of exposure to trace amounts of medication are not known.
We discussed the case and it transpired the mother had only fed her child once as she was afraid of the package insert. We felt it was in the patiets best interests and her childs that she continue breast feeding and consider the likelihood of any adverse outcome due to the sertraline as very low
made. In essence it is a capillaritis with T cell inflitration of unknown origin. If the medication is suspected stopping it for many months is recommended. They can dissapear in time or just hang around for many years. Steroids are not useful except for any itching. They look like this (courtesy of Derm Net) and you can read more about it here. Ads by Google
Ask a Dermatologist
9 Dermatologists Are Online. Dermatology Answers Today: 7. Health.JustAnswer.com/Dermatology
Bacterial vs viral & antibiotic duration
HbA1c-IFCC (mmol/mol)
hyare they doing this? Because now we are using a more accurate measure of glycosylation of Hb by looking at a single Valine on of the Hb chains rather than using a biological assay which included glycosylation of other things as well as Hb (but UKPDS used this biological test! So is validity true?) And then I started spotting HbA1c and FG & 2HPP discrepancies: So I needed to add a bit more to my HbA1c rudimentary knowledge: turns out the 120 day is not quite an accurate picture. The previous 30 days has a 50% impact on the HbA1c while the days 90-120 (before the test) only have a 10-20% effect on it. (http://www.endocrinetoday.com/view.aspx?rid=61106) . So the fresher your RBCs are and the worse your recent sugars are the higher your HbA1c will be even though the MPG (Mean Plasma Glucose) may be unchanged. (MPGs can be worked out by 7 measurements per day super snazzy glucose meters that sample your glucose automatically). So does the average life cycle of a red blood cell differ by ethnicity / genetic profile? From the anecdotal lack of complications in my diabetics with HbA1cs off the Richter scale (1015%) the answer sees to be yes at least in Saudi Arabia. Does BTS (Beta Thallasemia Trait) have an effect? Potentially depending on the assay it seems is a possibility. (Ref) Vitamin B12: Yes no yes again? Should we be checking Vitamin B12 once a year? Read this case report which argues for a yes: Report of Metformin induced B12 deficiency and neuropathy. And then finally to cap it all off statins can increase your risk of diabetes by 9%! This is the result of a meta-analysis published in the Lancet in Feb 2010. (Read more here). In short if you are low risk then it may not be a good idea, for moderate to high risk and if your old it works out as follows: Results further revealed that treatment of 255 patients with statins for four years would result in one extra case of diabetes. But, for 1 mmol/L reduction in LDL concentration, the same 255 patients could expect to experience five fewer major coronary events, such as coronary heart disease death or nonfatal myocardial infarction. Hope you are good at statistics and risk analysis and perhaps a bit of Bayes theorem
The Physicians Health Study II has reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association the effect of taking Vitamin C and E as supplements to prevent CVD after an eight year follow up using a RCT trial design. It wont be a surprise to many physicians to find out that it had absolutely no effect on these outcome measures and on the other hand it did throw up a concerning result. The concerning result was the increased incidence of haemorrhagic strokes for those taking Vitamin E. Though total mortality outcomes are equivalent in Vitamin C or E v placebo groups there was hazard ratio of 1.74 for haemorrhagic stroke for Vitamin E v placebo with a p value of 0.04 (significant). I dont recommend vitamin C or E for my patients for the purpose of primary prevention and / or general purpose well being and would put patients off taking Vitamin E in particular without any compelling reason
Having been recently introduced to the Trip Database I used it to try and quickly search for an answer and came up with the paper whose abstract is included at the bottom. It looked at the Nurses Health Study and concluded that SLE doubled (relatively speaking) the risk of CVD. Using the Pubmed link there was a free link to an editorial in one of the Arthritis Journals and this gave some further additional insight which was worth reading. My take home points:
y y y
CVD risk is doubled if you have SLE. SLE has a bimodal mortality pattern: mortlaity is raised soon after diagnosis and later on in life Try and minimise steroid usage because of the CVD risk.
Dementia
Bismillah, alhamdulillah. Heard a nice podcast from the BBC on Dementia. Take home points:
y y y y y
35 million have it world wide. Singing and music may help but patients point out it is contact with others that matters. Goa psychiatrist, DrAmit Dias, has a new idea: Sangath Dementia Project with a community outreach project for dementia. Angst of relatives who promised to keep their elderly relatives at home but who need to send them to an institution. Simple ideas from Dementia House: lighting should be increased as yellowing of the cornea causes difficulty in depth perception. Long life bulbs decrease in their luminosity with time and need regular changing! A telephone where the quick dial buttons have pictures of relatives rather than names. Infra red sensor connected near the bed and to an in-house pager, if they wake up at night someone can come to assist them. A little door opening audio prompt that says Dont forget your keys. A clock that gives the time, the date, the day, the month and the time of day as in evening or morning and the year.
Posted in Geriatrics | Tags: dementia, Dementia and lighting, Dementian House, DrAmit Dias, Patient Tips for dementia, Sangath Dementia Project Palliative care in the NHS the USA effect Negative drug trials
ome more relevant quotes from Medscape 2010 s review. Watchout for NDM-1 export from India NDM, a gene that makes bacteria impervious to many antibiotics, is spreading worldwide. The gene evolved in India but is widespread in Pakistan and Bangladesh as well. Its been isolated all across the United Kingdom, prompting a national alert. Its also popped up in the United States, Canada, Sweden, Australia, and the Netherlands. A Swedish patient of Indian origin who got a urinary tract infection while visiting New Delhi was found to be infected with NDM-carrying bacteria. Reseachers dubbed the new bug NDM-1. 4 million people have been born through IVF. Robert Edwards was awarded the 2010 Nobel prize for his work in IVF. I wonder how may fertilised embryos had to be terminated to get this research right. Robert Edwards, PhD, was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology, for his work in developing vitro fertilization (IVF). About 4 million people were born over the past 32 years using IVF. ADHD more genetic causality unearthed New research provides the first direct evidence that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is genetic. In a study published online September 30 in The Lancet, investigators from the University of Cardiff, United Kingdom, say their findings suggest ADHD should be classified as a neurodevelopmental and not a behavioral disorder.