Foundation Clinical Skills Flashcards
Summary of things to ask about in a psychiatric history
- Introduction
- History of Presenting Complaint
- Past Psychiatric History
- Family History
- Personal History
- Past Medical History
- Use of Medication / Drugs / Alcohol
- Forensic History
- Mental State Examination
- Relevant Physical Examination
- Risk Assessment
Components to consider in a personal history
Birth
Early development
School - social / academic
Home environment
Qualifications
Relationships and children
Work
Things to discuss when asking for Drug Hx
Current Medication
Allergies
Illicit Drug use
- How much?
- What?
Alcohol Consumption
- How much and how often?
- How long?
Also consider what age they started at
Things to consider for Forensic history
juvenile crime
court appearances
convictions
length of sentence
against person / property
experience of prison
Important risks to consider in psychiatry
Self neglect
Harm to self
Suicide
Harm to others
Vulnerability to exploitation
Child risk
Risk assessment
- How likely is it that an event will occur?
- Past behaviour can help predict future risk
- Risk can change over time and depending on the situation
- When is it expected to occur?
- How bad will it be?
Risk should be identified based on information from the history + other information the patient has communicated
Components of the Mental State Exam
Appearance and behaviour
Speech
Mood
Thoughts
Perceptions
Cognition
Insight
Mood vs Affect
Mood -refers to emotion over a prolonged period of time.
Affect - refers to immediate emotion
3 examples of thought disorders
Flight of ideas: thoughts are moving so quickly that one chain of thought is not completed before the next one starts. Can be linked by obscure references, rhymes or puns etc.
Loosening of associations: lack of logical connection between a sequence of thoughts
Perseveration: persistent and inappropriate repetition of the same thought
What is the qSOFA score for
sensitive test for assessing organ dysfunction + sepsis
Components of the qSOFA score + associated mortality risk of each score
- change in mental state
- Systolic BP <100mmHg
- RR >22
0-1 = 3% risk of mortality
2 or more = 24% risk of mortality
Parameters of the NEWS2 score
- Respiration rate
- Oxygen saturation
- Are they on air or oxygen
- Systolic BP (diastolic is not usually included)
- Pulse
- Consciousness (Alert, Voice, Pain or Unresponsive)
- Temperature
What is the suggested NEWS2 score cut-off for escalating to a Dr
- Overall score of 5
- a score of 3 in just one of the parameters
Key markers to check for deterioration in a patient
Cardiopulmonary:
- Respiratory Rate
- Oxygen Saturations
- Supplemental oxygen
- Heart Rate
- Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure
Markers of End Organ Dysfunction:
- Consciousness or new confusion
- Urine Output
Other:
- Temperature
- Pain
Ones in bold are not included in the NEWS score but are still important
Alveolar ventilation equation + what it means
Alveolar Ventilation (VA) = 1/PaCO2
An issue with ventilation would therefore cause a drop in oxygen delivery and reduction in carbon dioxide removal i.e. high CO2 and low O2 in the alveoli
Equation for minute ventilation
Minute Ventilation = Tidal Volume (TV) × Respiratory Rate (RR)
What is the normal range of Resp Rate
12-20 bpm
Characteristic findings of heart failure on examination
JVP
Ankle oedema
Crackles in lungs
3rd/ 4th heart sound
Displaced apex
MR
Potential presentations of IHD
Corneal arcus and xanthelasmata
Tendon xanthomata
High blood pressure
Arterial bruits and peripheral vascular disease
Retinal arteriolar changes (common in diabetic and hypertensive patients with IHD)
- typically entirely normal