Acute Medicine Flashcards
What is acute medicine?
Acute medicine refers to immediate and early management of adults in hospital who require urgent or emergency care. Although it is closely linked to emergency medicine and critical care, it is firmly rooted in the principles of general internal medicine. Mostly based in AMUs etc.
What are the key aspects of the job of acute medicine?
Reviewing patients admitted from A&E and GP. Including diagnosis, initial management and treatment. Need to decide who is admitted and discharged, who needs specialist review and who needs escalation to critical care/HDU
(key role of acute medicine is to convert presenting complaint into differential diagnosis)
What are the typical presentations seen in acute medicine?
- Chest pain
- SOB
- Abdominal pain
- Vomiting/haematemesis
- Sepsis
- Confusion
What score is used to predict the outcomes in patients with a PE?
PESI - pulmonary embolism severity index
What is the treatment for someone with a CURB65 score of 0-1?
Consider outpatient treatment and single antibiotic
What is the treatment for someone with a CURB65 score of 2?
Short in-patient treatment and dual antibiotic
What is the treatment for someone with a CURB65 score of 3?
In-patient treatment and IV therapy
What is the treatment for someone with a CURB65 score of 4-5?
These patients have a mortality rate of 41-57%. The treatment is in-patient therapy HDU/specialist care dual antibiotics
What does SNOUT and SPIN refer to?
SNOUT means a negative test rules out and SPIN means a positive test rules in.
So the SNOUT is sensitive and the SPIN is specific
When is a fat embolism more likely to occur?
With broken bones
What are the symptoms of PE? (5)
- SOB
- Chest pain - pleuritic in nature
- Cough
- Associated leg swelling
- Haemoptysis (rarely)
What are the signs of PE? (5)
- Tachycardia (most common)
- Hypotension (only happen if massive PE)
- Raised JVP
- Pleural rub (rare)
- May have no signs
What are the risk factors for PE? (8)
- Previous DVT/PE
- Current DVT
- Immobility
- Major surgery
- Long bone fracture
- Acute malignancy
- Oral contraceptive pill
- Pregnancy
What are the differential diagnoses for PE? (7)
- Pneumonia
- LRTI
- ACS
- Pleurisy
- Pericarditis
- MSK chest pain
- Upper GI symptoms (GORD)
What is it called when the PE is across the bifurcation in the pulmonary artery?
Saddle PE
What is the initial treatment for a PE?
- Low molecular weight heparin
- Option of warfarin or DOAC or longer-term LMWH
- Treatment options depend on whether provoked or unprovoked
Other considerations - duration of treatment and further investigations required
1 in how many patients on warfarin are at risk of intra-cerebral haemorrhage?
1 in 200
What is a D-Dimers sensitivity and specificity in terms of %s?
Sensitive 95%
Specific 50%
(because can be positive due to many causes - but won’t miss PE)