Emergency presentations + paeds Flashcards
What does acute abdomen mean?
rapid onset severe abdominal sx (usually with pain) that may indicate life-threatening intra-abdo pathology
How do you assess a pt p/w ?acute abdomen?
- Ask about pain, vomiting (bilious, undigested food, faeculent, haematemesis), melaena/bright bleeding/other stool changes, urinary changes, lumps in abdo/groin, whether they’re eating + drinking, bowels, feeling faint/dizzy/palps, fever/rigors, rash/itching, weight loss
- Check for signs of sepsis, dehydration
- Examine abdomen for jaundice, distension, bruising (around umbilicus Cullen’s sign of haemorrhagic pancreatits/ectopic pregnancy/flanks Grey Turner’s sign of retroperitoneal haematoma), bowel sounds, aortic/iliac bruits, ascites, tenderness, shifting dullness, fluid thrill, organomegaly, guarding, rebound tenderness, bladder distension
- Groin for herniae, DRE
- Men – scrotum, women – DVE if needed
Differentials for the acute abdomen
SURGICAL:
*Upper GI: cholecystitis, pancreatitis, peptic ulcer disease, gastroenteritis, GI haemorrhage, splenic rupture
*Lower GI: appendicitis, diverticulitis, Meckel’s diverticulum, SBO/LBO, acute intestinal ischaemia, vasculitis, lower GI haemorrhage, AAA
Mesenteric adenitis – dispute as to whether is an actual diagnosis
*Strangulated hernia
*Renal: acute retention, renal colic, pyelonephritis
*Psoas abscess
*Testicular torsion
*Ectopic pregnancy rupture
*PID, tubo-ovarian abscess
*Ovarian torsion, ovarian cyst torsion/rupture
MEDICAL:
- MI, pericarditis, pneumonia
- Sickle crisis
- Hepatitis, IBD exacerbation
- Opiate withdrawal
- Acute intermittent porphyria
Normal observations in children (RR, HR)
<1y - 30-40; 110-160 1-2y- 25-35; 100-150 2-5y-20-30; 95-140 5-12y-15-20; 80-12- >12y-12-16, 60-100
Causes of breathing difficulty in a child
- Lower airway obstruction: bronchiolitis, asthma, pneumonia, foreign body, viral-induced wheeze, whooping cough
- Upper airway obstruction: anaphylaxis, croup, epiglottitis, bacterial tracheitis, peritonsillar abscess, foreign body
- Cardiac: acute heart failure, SVT
- Panic disorders
What is a fever in a child?
Generally if temp 38C or higher, often hard to define and reported parental perception of fever should be accepted. In young children usually indicates an infection, with fever a natural response to this
Causes of fever in kids
- Serious infections like sepsis, meningitis, pyelonephritis, peritonitis, pneumonia, encephalitis
- Less serious infections like URTIs, EBV
- Fever without obvious source e.g. HPB infections, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, abscess, pericarditis
- Travel-related like parasitic infections, TB, rheumatic fever, malaria
- Drug fever
- Kawasaki disease
- Malignancy – ALL, AML, lymphoma B symptoms
- Autoimmune – mixed connective tissue disease, RA, IBD, hyperthyroidism
What is the relevance of red and amber flags for fever in kids?
- If any red flags arrange emergency transfer for suspicion of things like sepsis, meningitis, encephalitis, pneumonia, severe dehydration
- If amber features see them and see if they need admission. E.g. infant <3m with suspected UTI needs hospital, significant parental anxiety etc
Amber flags in children with fever
Pallor of skin/lips/tongue reported by parent
Not responding normally, waking only with prolonged stimulation, reduced activity, not smiling
Nasal flaring
Tachypnoea: 6-12m RR>50, >12m RR >40
Sats 95% OA or less
Crackles on auscultation
Poor feeding in infants, dry MM, CRT >2s, reduced urine output, tachycardia >160 <1y, >150 1-2y, >140 2-5y
Fever for 5 days or more, rigors, temp 39 or more aged 3-6 months, swelling of limb/joint, non weight-bearing/not using a limb
Red flags in children with fever
Pale, mottled, ashen or blue skin/lips/tongue
Not responding, appears ill to HCP, unable to rouse/doesn’t stay awake, weak high pitched or continuous crying
Grunting, RR 60 or more, moderate-severe chest indrawing
Reduced skin turgor
Non-blanching rash, bulging fontanelle, neck stiffness, focal neurological signs focal seizures, status epilepticus
Roseola infantum
HSV 6/7: sudden onset high fever, coryza/sore throat/mild diarrhoea, then as fever goes down get rash on trunk + neck for couple of days
Slapped cheek syndrome
Erythema infectious. (Parvovirus B19): mild prodrome, 2-4d bright erythema on cheeks sparing nose + sparing around eyes/mouth, then erythematous macular-morbilliform eruption on extensor surfaces, then fades as a lacy pattern (reticulated). Children usually fine, can cause arthralgia in adults, can precipitate aplastic crisis
Measles
v contagious virus. Cough/coryza/sore red eyes/high fever, Koplik spots in mouth then morbilliform rash (macular, confluent)
Rubella
rubella virus
erythematous rash, may have mild constitutional sx or arthralgia in older children. Typically lasts 3 days
in pregnant women if exposed test them. if have rubella then if >20w prob fine, if <10w offer TOP as v high risk CRS, if 11-16w 10-20% chance
Bacterial maculopapular rash + fever
- Scarlet fever: tonsillitis, fine red rough-textured rash, fades and get desquamation, bright red tongue with strawberry appearance
- Erythema marginatum – rheumatic fever
- Erythema migrans – Lyme disease. target lesion
- rose spots of typhoid fever
Kawasaki disease
fever 5+ days not controlled with meds, conjunctival injection, rash, lymphadenopathy, red cracked lips/strawberry tongue, red palms/soles/desquamation.
Do Echo
M-high dose aspirin (to protect against coronary arteritis)
Vesicular/bullous rashes
- Viruses: HSV-1 (cold sores, eczema herpeticum), chickenpox (vesicules surrounded by erythematous halo, central umbilication + crusting), hand foot + mouth disease (high fever, coryza. Oral lesions red spots then yellow-grey ulcers, then spots on hands + soles that turn into blisters, lasts 7-10d)
- Bacterial: boils, impetigo (crusting), staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis
Petechial + purpuric rashes in children
- Viruses: v common, from most like adenoviruses, enteroviruses
- Bacterial: meningococcal or other septic infection, may be initially erythematous/maculopapular then petechiae + purpura. Can also get in infective endocarditis
- HSP – headache/fever/anorexia, then rash on legs + buttocks, abdo pain/vomiting, joint pain (Esp knees + ankles), subcutaneous oedema, haematuria
- Thrombocytopenia – ITP, ALL
- Malaria
Complications of head injury
- Primary damage: neural tissue injury (focal contusions, lacerations, diffuse axonal injury), bv injury (extradural, subdural, subarachnoid haemorrhage), penetrating injury
- Secondary damage: cerebral oedema, hypotension, hypoxia, seizures, hypoglycaemia, later-onset infection
CVS causes of chest pain
o ACS (pain lasting >15 mins, a/w N+V/sweating/SOB, haemodynamic instability, new onset/abrupt deterioration; don’t use response to GTN to confirm/exclude)
o Stable angina
o Dissecting thoracic aneurysm (tearing pain, radiation to back, hypertension, different in both arms, inequality in pulses, new diastolic murmur (AR)
o Pericarditis/cardiac tamponade (sharp constant sternal pain, relief sitting forward, may radiate, worse lying on left/on inspiration/swallowing/coughing, may have fever/cough/arthralgia; tamponade may have dysphagia/sob; may hear pericardial friction rub, may have pulsus paradoxus, hypotension, muffled HS, jugular venous distension)
o Acute CCF (ankle swelling, tired, severe sob, orthopnoea, elevated JVP, coughing, gallop rhythm, inspiratory crackles at bases, wheeze)
o Arrythmias (palpitations, sob, syncope/near-syncope, brady or tachy)
Pulmonary causes of chest pain
o PE: acute sob, pleuritic CP, cough, haemoptysis, syncope, tachypnoea/tachycardia, signs of DVT, mild pyrexia
o Pneumothorax: acute pleuritic pain + sob, reduced chest wall movements, reduced breath sounds, increased resonance percussion
o CAP: cough and at least one of sputum/wheeze/dyspnoea/pleuritic CP; focal chest signs (dull percussion, bronchial breathing, coarse crackles), temp
o Asthma: wheeze, sob, cough, often triggers
o Lung/lobar collapse: localised CP, sob, cough, reduced chest wall movement, dull percussion, bronchial breathing, reduced BS
o Lung cancer: chest/shoulder pain, haemoptysis, dyspnoea, WL, appetite loss, hoarseness, cough
o Pleural effusion: localised CP, sob
MSK causes of chest pain
o Rib #: h/o trauma or coughing. u/l sharp chest pain worse on inspiration
o Costochondritis: u/l sharp anterior chest wall pain, worse with breathing/activity/postural, usually preceded by exercise/URTI, can last for months. Tender over costochondral junction, pain on palpation, tender swelling of costal cartilage at costochondral junction in Tietze’s syndrome
o Spinal disorders – disc prolapse, cervical spondylosis, facet joint dysfunction. Dull aching CP, worse with particular neck movements, radiates down arm/into head/shoulder/scapulae, may have headache/dizziness