Emergency medicine: Abdominal pain Flashcards
What are the symptoms of perforation?
Acute severe abdominal pain
Rebound tenderness (i.e. peritonitis)
Acute pyrexia
Nausea, vomiting
What are the key investigative findings of perforation?
- A/CXR =
- Pneumo-peritoneum (air under diaphragm) - Bloods =
- Low Hb
- Raised WCC
- Raised lactate
- (Raised amylase) - ABG =
- Metabolic acidosis
What is the management for perforation? (8 - think RRAPID)
- ABCDE
- Oxygen high flow 15L/min via NRBM
- Fluid resuscitation
- Morphine with cyclizine
- ABx - metronidazole and co-amoxiclav
- Cross Match (urgent)
- NBM, NGT
- Surgery
What are the symptoms of bowel obstruction
Acute abdominal pain
- Colicky and intermittent
- Severe
- Distended ± rigid
- Tender ± peritonitic
Vomiting
- Bilious
- Faecal (worrying)
Tinkling bowel sounds
Constipation - partial or complete
What are the key investigations for bowel obstruction?
- AXR =
- distended loops of bowel
- absence of gas distal to obstruction - Contrast enema (for lower obstructions)
- Bloods
- Cross-match
- FBC
What is the treatment for bowel obstruction
DRIP and SUCK
- NGT (Rhyles tube to remove GI contents)
- NBM
- IV fluids
- Surgery
In whom is acute appendicitis most common (age range)?
10-20 yo
What are the symptomatic sequelae of acute appendicitis?
Classic (>60%)
- Central colicky abdominal pain
- worse with movement
- tender with voluntary guarding - Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea
- Fever + fatigue
Late
- Severe pain in RIF (McBurneys)
- Rigid and tender abdomen
- Peritonitis - Rovsing sign
- Mucous coated faeces
- Swinging pyrexia
What is the treatment for appendicitis?
- ABCDE
- NBM, NGT, IV fluids
- Abx - IV co-amoxiclav, metronidazole, cefuroxime
- Appendectomy
What are the symptoms of AAA?
- Central abdominal pain
- Acute (?rupture) or Chronic (developing)
- Radiates to back, groin, thigh
- Pulsatile and expansile mass - Fatigue
- Absent leg pulses
- Acutely unwell, drowsy, confused, low GCS, Cullens and Grey turners (?rupture)
What is the key investigative findings which determines clinical decision regarding treatment in patients with AAA?
- USS abdomen
- 3 - 4.4 cm = annual review
- 4.5 - 5.4 cm = 3 monthly review
- >5.5 cm = elective surgery
- Ruptured = urgent surgery - Bloods
- FBC: Low Hb (may indicate bleed), raised WCC (may indicate infection)
What are the primary causes of acute pancreatitis?
Gall stones (majority), Ethanol (alcohol), Trauma
What are the symptoms and signs of acute pancreatitis?
- Constant epigastric pain
- radiates to back
- Worse with alcohol
- Relieved with leaning forward
- Tender and rigid - Cullens and Grey turners (late)
- RUQ pain - if a/w gall stones
- N, V, D, Anorexia
- Dehydration
What are the symptoms of acute cholecystitis?
Constant RUQ pain - Radiates to right shoulder - Worse after eating fatty foods - Tender RUQ - Mass felt RUQ Nausea, vomiting, fever, bloating Murphys sign (pain in RUQ on palpation during inspiration)
What is acute cholecystitis?
Inflammation of the gall bladder due impaction of a gall stone in the neck of the gall bladder
What is cholangitis?
Bile statsis causes infection of the gall bladder –> inflammation and Charcot’s triad
What are the symptoms of cholangitis?
- Fever
- Jaundice
- Abdominal pain i.e. RUQ pain
What are the symptoms of cholangitis?
- Fever
- Jaundice
- Abdominal pain i.e. RUQ pain
What are the symptoms of obstructive jaundice?
RUQ pain radiating to R.Shoulder
Dark urine
Pale faeces