Exploring symptoms Flashcards
Tiredness: history
- DOPT
- Sleep: hours, quality, snoring, apnoea
- How it affects patient
- Associated symptoms (see other flashcard)
Tiredness: associated symptoms
- Anaemia: breathlessness on exertion, dizziness/headache
- Hypothyroidism - constipation, weight gain, cold intolerance, menorrhagia
- Depression: mood, early morning waking
- Diabetes: polydipsia, polyuria
Cerebral symptoms: headache
- SOCRATES
- ?Meningism: rash, fever, neck stiffness, photophobia
- ?GCA: visual problems, jaw claudication, scalp tenderness (e.g. when brushing hair)
- Glaucoma: visual blurring, red eye, halos around lights
- Associated neuro symptoms (see other flashcard)
Headache: RED FLAGS
- Intracranial bleed - thunderclap headache, recent trauma
- Raised ICP - posture, valsalva
- SOL - hx of immunosuppression, malignancy, focal neurology, onset>50yo
- Meningitis
- GCA
- Glaucoma
Cerebral symptoms: Weakness
Pattern
Characterise e.g. fatigable in MG
Assoc neuro symptoms (see other flashcard)
Cerebral symptoms: fit/fall/syncope (get collateral)
Before: warning, circumstance
During: duration, LOC, movements (floppy/stiff/jerking), incontinence/tongue biting
After: amnesia, muscle pain, confusion, sleepiness, injuries from fall
- Background to attacks: previous episodes, frequency, impact on life
-ASSOCIATED CARDIO/NEURO (see other flaschard)
CHECK IF PATIENT DRIVES
Chest symptoms: SOB
- Current vs normal exercise tolerance (what makes them stop?)
- Orthopnoea
- Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea
- Diurnal seasonal variation if chronic
- Associated CR symptoms
Chest symptoms: Cough
- Productive vs non-productive
- Triggers
- Nocturnal
- Associated CR sympts
Chest symptoms: sputum
- how much, how often
- colour/consistency
- ANY BLOOD
Chest symptoms: haemoptysis
- volume and frequency
- fresh or altered blood
- Nature of associated sputum if any? mixed in?
Chest symptoms: palpitations
- fast/slow
- regular/irregular (tap them out on the table)
- dizziness, LOC, nausea, sweating/clamminess, dyspnoea
- associated CR sympts
Abdominal symptoms: diarrhoea/constipation/vomiting
- How much, how often, any at night?
- CCC (colour, consistency and contents)
- diarrhoea - blood, mucus
- vomiting - bile
- weight loss, appetite/intake
- Associated GI symptms
Abdominal symptoms: dysphagia
- Solids/liquids or both, which came first
- Constant/intermittent, progressive or non-progressive
- Odynophagia
- W/L, food intake
- Assoc GI symptms
Abdominal symptoms:: dyspepsia/reflux
- SOCRATES
- associated GI symptms
Dyspepsia/reflux: RED FLAGS (ALARMS)
- Anaemia
- Loss of weight
- Anorexia
- Recent onset of progressive symptoms
- Melaena/haematemesis
- Swallowing difficulty
Also - age>55yo, >4 weeks relapsing symptms, persistent vomiting
