Bill Flashcards
What do we learn from Bill’s patient persona?
He has been sleeping rough for 4 years
Smoker
He has been receiving lesser coin recently
What do the paramedics say in the handover?
Picked up from local Homeless centre Went to sleep and was very difficult to rouse after fire alarm at 2:30am non-verbal Drowsy GCS E3 V4 M6 Reactive pupils 37.4 temperature HR 97 BP 89/65 Sats 90% now 94% on oxygen 14 resp rate Mildy wheezy Abdomen distended Blood sugar 4.2
What had the paramedics done before his admission to hospital?
500 ml of fluid Bought is systolic up to 105 Glucogel given One cannula in the right AVF Oxygen
What did the paramedic find?
Smoking papers
Papers with number on
Smells of alcohol
What do we see in Bill?
Altered mental state
How would you work our what is happening with Bill?
Symptom sieve
What is the symptom sieve used by Bill’s doctor?
Primary neurological Infection Cardiorespiratory Gastro-intestinal Metabolic\Endocrine Toxins Psychiatric
What is GCS?
Glasgow Coma Scale
What are the possibilities for primary neurological symptoms?
Trauma
What Infection’s could be present?
COPD
Asthma
TB
What are possible GI issues?
Alcohol poisoning
Pancreatitis
Distended abdomen
What toxins could be present?
Drugs
Alcohol
What psychiatric problems could be present?
Depression
Anxiety
What comprises an A - E assesment?
Airways
What would an Airways assessment show in Bill
Verbalising intermittently
No foreign objects in mouth or excessive secretions
No snoring / stridor
No mouth or tongue swelling
Who could you call when examining airways?
An anaesthetist who are experts in airway management
What observations can you make about Bill’s breathing?
Normal resp. rate (14 breaths per min) Slight wheeze (stridor) when examining abdomen He was distressed 90% sats but 94% on 2L oxygen Smoker
What can you exclude when assessing breathing?
Exclude trauma to neck
C3,C4,C5 keeps the diaphragm alive
Look at the neck muscles
What should you look at in regards to smoker?
Nicotine stained fingernails
What was Dr. Patel’s C assessment?
Blood pressure - 86/64 mm Hg
Heart rate - 110 bpm
Heart sounds - normal
12 lead ECG - sinus tachycardia nil. ischaemic changes
Peripheral capillary refil brisk bilaterally ( more than 3-4 secs)
Warm peripheries, looks flushed
What is most concerning about the circulation assessment?
Blood pressure is low
High heart rate is normal response
Worry about shock and its consequences
How do you conduct a capillary refill test?
Lift patients hand to heart level
Place pressure on the fingernail see how long it takes for colour to return
What are the 4 types of shock?
Hypovolemic
Cardiogenic
Obstructive
Distributive
What is the most common form of shock?
Hypovolemic shock
What causes cardiogenic shock?
Anything that impairs the heart generating pressure
Inadequate tissue perfusion causes shock
What causes obstructive shock?
Something physically obstructs the vessels preventing perfusion
What are the three types of distributive shock?
Septic
Anaphylactic
Neurogenic
How does distributive shock come about?
Vasodilation
TPR falls
Blood pressure falls
Inadequate perfusion
Disability, what is his mental state?
Blood glucose - 5.7 Temperature - 38.2 Confused GCS E3 V4 M5 Moving four limbs normally PEARL - 3mm Smells of alchol
What comprises the GCS?
Eyes
Verbal response
Motor
What is the exposure?
No rashes No sites of infection / track marks No evidence of trauma to limbs or head No evidence of external bleeding Abdominal examination - abdomen distended, tender in left illiac fossa
What are Dr. Patels impressions?
Sepsis
Altered mental state
Likely due to sepsis however need to consider alcohol, delirium, drugs and intra-cranial pathology
Why do we think it is sepsis?
Developing high temperature (may or may not have in sepsis) Difficult to wake/Sleepier than normal Altered mental state Oxygen to maintain above 92% sats Low blood pressure From shelter/streets - poor hygiene
What is Dr. Patel’s plan?
Sepsis management
Need to investigate the source of sepsis
CT head to rule out intra-cranial pathology
What is important about observations?
They are not static
Must be reviewed regularly
Compared to previous
How do you diagnose SIRS?
2 or more of
What is the flowchart for septic shock?
SIRS
Sepsis
Severe Sepsis
Septic Shock
What are the SEPSIS 6?
Give O2 to keep sats above 94% Take blood cultures Give IV antibiotics Give a fluid challenge Measure lactate Measure urine output
What biochemical tests do Dr. Patel order?
CRP Creatinine Urea Na K ALT ALP GGT Bili Amylase Lactate
What haematology test do Dr. Patel order?
Hb
WCC
Neut
PLT
What other test does Dr. Patel order?
Toxicology screen
Blood culture
What can you tell from the blood results
High CRP (marker of inflammation) High Lactate (tissue ischaemia) High WBC and Neut (infection) Creatinine (poor kidney function/muscle breakdown) Blood ethanol is positive Hyponatremic (possible dehydration) High urea (kidney problems)
Which abnormal bloods are most relevant?
CRP Creatinine + Urea (kidney problems) Lactate WBC Neut
What is Dr. Patel’s clinical update?
CT head normal Blood tests are keeping with sepsis Blood cultures sent IV AB given Patient improving clinically with AB and fluids Less confused Reporting severe pain in his abdomen Patient tender in left iliac fossa Abdomen soft to palpitation
What is his NEWS2 score?
Systolic BP 1
Pulse 1
Consciousness 3
Temperature 1
6 Medium risk, key threshold for urgent response
What antibiotic do you give after taking cultures?
Best guess antibiotics immediately after taking cultures
‘empirical antibiotics’
When culture results come in 24 hours antibiotic treatment can be fine tuned
What is the timescale for the Sepsis 6?
Should be done within an hour
What is Dr. Patel’s second clinical plan?
Analgesia
CT abdomen/pelvis
Continue intravenous fluids and antibiotics
What his is new NEWS 2 score?
Now less confused
so is now 3
After more information what symptom sieve categories are most likely to be causing his confusion?
Infection
GI
Toxins
Psychiatric
What organs could be causing Bill’s pain?
Descending and sigmoid colon
What are the radiologist’s observations?
Normally positioned liver with evidence of mild parenchymal nodularity and fatty infiltration
No portal vein enlargement
The intra- and extra-hepatic billiard ducts and gallbladder are unremarkable
The spleen is of normal size. There is no ascites.
What is Bill most likely to have?
Sigmoid diverticulitis
What is sigmoid diverticulitis?
Constant abdominal pain
Signs of systemic upset
Common cause of sepsis
What is diverticulitis?
Out-pouching with infection/inflammation
What is diverticulosis?
Out-pouching without inflammation
What are diverticula>
Abnormal out-pouching of the mucosa
When does it become diverticular disease?
Intermittent abdominal pain
Changes in bowel pain
Related to a high fat, low fibre diet
What is important to know about tests?
They are there to confirm your suspicions
In this case palpating would have given you the diagnosis and test confirmed it.
What is the main aim of the A-E approach?
Buy time for further treatment and making a diagnosis
What is the SBAR approach?
Situation
Background
Assessment Recommendation
What is the homelessness iceberg?
Most obvious is homelessness on the street increased from 2000 in 2010 to 4800 in 2018
People in tents/carparks
On the edge of homelessness e.g. living with a friend
People in hostels
Why does homelessness cause a public health issue?
Those sleeping rough have average age of death of 47
High drug use
The effects of being in rentery’s is equivalent to becoming redundant
Affects skin, breathing, mental health
What is RSVP approach?
Reason
Story
Vital signs
Plan
What causes homelessness?
Eviction from private tenancies
You can evict someone with only 8 week notice in UK