Author Archives: admin

TweetAny disease or condition can be related to one of these pathological processes.  It is a worthwhile system to employ when evaluating a puzzling patient or recalling facts for exams…. Read more »

TweetTypical patient populations susceptible to infection due to coexisting drug treatment Oncology/Haematology Patients – chemotherapy Organ Transplant recipients – Immunosuppressants Patients with chronic inflammatory conditions e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, chronic nephritis… Read more »

TweetIntroduction Despite the advent of antibiotics, Infection still remains a major cause of death either in isolation or as the terminal complication of underlying chronic illness.  There are a number… Read more »

TweetIntroduction Bleeding is a common cause of acute presentations and haemorrhage is a major resuscitation issue particularly in trauma.  In allo of these situations its important to inquire about the… Read more »

TweetA useful approach to considering the causes of any disease is the Surgical Sieve But in acute medicine most processes which kill or maim are limited to the following processes… Read more »

TweetImportant for the following reasons It gives a sense of how significant underlying co-morbidities are and patient’s overall risk may explain the patient’s current symptoms alerts clinician to current and… Read more »

TweetSurgical Pathology Fracture through base of skull from severe trauma results in blood or CSF tracking externally Diagnosis best confirmed on CT scan.  Indirect evidence is fluid in ethmoid or… Read more »

TweetThe following signs are suggestive of an intracranial lesion  and would warrant neuroimaging e.g CT brain High Risk Decreased conscious state Focal deficit Abnormal pupils Signs of basal skull fracture… Read more »

TweetDefinition: Any change in behaviour, emotion, memory, thought or speech content or conscious state. Introduction Alterations in mental state can be florid such as a patient with delirium tremens or… Read more »

TweetIntroduction: Prognosis generally worse with haemorrhage than ischaemia Definition: Stroke secondary to intra-cerebral haemorrhage or more rarely cerebellar or brainstem haemorrhage (qv Spontaneous Sub-arachnoid haemorrhage) Pathology Typically due to rupture… Read more »