General Flashcards
4 types of dementia?
Alzheimer’s
Vascular
Lewy body
Frontotemporal
Pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s?
Beta amyloid plaques accumulation
Neurofibrillary tau tangles
Alzheimer’s symptoms?
5 As
Amnesia- short term worse than long
Aphasia
Agnostia- doesn’t recognise things
Apraxia- misusing objects as fail to identify
Continuous decline
Key facts about vascular dementia.
Cumulative effect of many small strokes
Step wise decline
Key facts about Lewy body dementia?
Fluctuates
Hallucinations with no other cause
Associated with Parkinson’s?
Key facts about fronto temporal dementia
U65 more common
Associated with MND
Behavioural change- e.g. hypersexual, aggressive, adventure seeking
What’s included in a confusion screen?
FBC -anaemia, infection
U&E - electrolytes
LFTs- encephalopathy, raised ammonia
CRP- infection
Haemostatics- iron, B12, folate
TFTs - more often hypothyroidism
Calcium
Phosphate
Magnesium
Cognitive screening tests?
AMT/ Abbreviated mental state test
6-CIT
Mini mental state
More detailed cognitive tests?
Addenbrookes cognitive exam (ACE)- /100
Cambridge cognition test
Alzheimer’s mild to moderate pharmacological tx?
Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors:
- Rivastigmine
- Donepazil
- Galantamine
Moderate to severe Alzheimer’s pharmacological tx?
NMDA receptor antagonist
- Memantine
If completely necessary to sedate a patient for their own safety (and no treatable cause found). What would you use?
0.5mg lorazepam, preferably oral
What is delerium?
Acquired, acute onset of altered consciousness or inattention.
Can be hyper or hypo
Causes of delerium?
PINCH ME (or MEDs)
Pain
Infection
Nutrition
Constipation
Hydration
Metabolic
Electrolytes
Drugs/alcohol
E.g. could they need chlordiazepoxide to treat their alcohol withdrawal rather than a sedating benzo
5 features of the mental capacity act?
- Presumed to have capacity
- Supported to make decisions
- Right to make an unwise decision
- Best interests is core to decision
- Intervention must be least restrictive
Assessing capacity features?
Understand
Retain
Evaluate
Communicate
What is used a a safeguard to staff when someone’s is treated without capacity?
DOLS
Deprivation of liberty standard
SSRIs are usually first line for anxiety, what’s usually second line? And examples
SNRIs
E.g.
Duloxetine
Venlafaxine
Management of panic disorder?
1st- CBT or drug therapy
1st SSRIs. If CI or no response after 12 weeks, try imipramine or clomipramine
Myeloma classically presents with/causes?
Lethargy
Hypercalcaemia
Pancytopenia
AKI
How does myeloma often present?
CRABBI
Calcium raised- constipation, nausea, anorexia, confusion
Renal
Anaemia- bone marrow infiltration
Bleeding- thrombocytopenia
Bones- bone marrow infiltration, particularly in spine
Infection
What is Graves’ disease?
Autoimmune disease caused by TSH receptor antibodies leading to hyperthyroidism
Which regions of an ECG are lateral leads?
1, aVL, V5, V6