A & E Masterclass Flashcards
when do you treat a pneumothorax?
> 2cm
chest drain
pneumonia vs fluid?
pneumonia has little branching lines going through it
pleural effusion on X ray?
cant see diaphragm
meniscus/fluid level
pneumoperitoneum?
air in peritoneal space
gas sits up below the diaphragm
main indication for abdominal x ray?
obstruction
how do you look for pneumoperitoneum?
CXR then abdo X ray
how can you tell whether large or small bowel?
lines go all the way across bowel in small bowel (valvulae conniventes)
obstruction on X ray?
small bowel
- dilation >3cm
- central dilated loops of gas filled bowel
large bowel
- dilation >6cm (>9cm in caecum)
- gas filled bowel around periphery of abdomen (can cross over midline)
- larger than small bowel
fracture description?
location of fracture on bone
type of facture
- transverse (direct injury)
- oblique (direct injury)
- spiral (twisting injury)
- comminuted (more than 2 parts)
- avulsion (common in ankle from where ligaments/meniscus attaches)
- impacted
- torus (outer wall of bone remains intact but bone ahs buckled)
- green stick (fracture only goes through one side of bone)
(torus and green stick common in children and often remodel on their own)
where is the fat pad usually found in the elbow?
anterior to elbow above olecranon
what does a posteriorly placed fat pad and increased volume of anterior fat pad (anterior sail sign) indicate?
effusion (blood or fluid) in elbow joint
usually caused by radial head fracture in adults
supracondylar fracture in children
what is a colles fracture?
dorsal angulation of distal radius fracture
what fracture often occurs alongside colles?
ulnar styloid
what is Smith’s fracture?
volar angulation of distal radius fracture (opposite to colles)
main risk of scaphoid fracture?
avascular necrosis
