General Medicine Flashcards
What are the cornerstone of medical evaluation?
- History taking
- Examination
- Special investigation
Why is rheumatic fever something we should worry about?
In some instances, rheumatic heart diseases may be exacerbated by increased bacteremia during certain dental procedures
What are some of common conditions should we worry about in terms of the cardiovascular disease section of the medical history?
- Heart failure
- Acute Myocardial Infraction
- Hypertension - high blood pressure
- Congenital Heart Disease - bacterial endocarditis
- Arrhythmias - related to heart failure and blood thinners
What is important aspects to assist a patient with general stress?
- Open communication about fears and concerns
- Short appoitment
- Mornign appoitment
- Ensure profound local anaesthesia
- Need to provide adequate post-operative pain control
- Post-procedure telephone call
What are some of common conditions should we worry about in terms of the blood disorders section of the medical history?
- Inherited bleeding disorders - haemophilia
- Anaemia
- Leukemia or blood dyscrasias
- Blood thinners
What are some of common conditions should we worry about in terms of the respiratory tract disease section of the medical history?
- Asthma
- Chronic obstructive airways disease
- Tuberculosis
- Sleep apnea or sleep disordered breathing
What are some of common conditions should we worry about in terms of the neurological disorders disease section of the medical history?
- Stroke
- Epilepsy, seizures and convulsions
- Behavioral/psychiatric disorders
What are some of common conditions should we worry about in terms of the endocrine disease section of the medical history?
- Diabetes - type I and type II
- Thyroid disease - uncontrolled hyperthyroidism and stress sensativity
What are some of common conditions should we worry about in terms of the genitourinary tract disease section of the medical history?
- Kidney disease - abnormal drug metabolism
- Sexually transmitted disease - HIV, Hep b and C
What are some of common conditions should we worry about in terms of the muscuskeletal disease section of the medical history?
- Arthritis - relating to TMJ and use of NSAIDS
- Prosthetic joints
What are some of the other conditions to look out for when conducting a thorough medical history?
- Tobacco and alcohol use
- Drug addiction and substance abuse
- Cancer treatment
- Use of steroids
- Pregnancy
- Previous operations or hospitalisations
What is considered to be normal blood pressure?
Any blood pressure where the systolic (first reading) is below 120 and diastolic (second reading) is below 80 e.g. 119/79
What is INR?
International Normal Rate is a test that identifies potential blood clotting issues by comparing them to an international norm (with 1 being norm and everything above is considered to be worst clotting = more bleeding)
What are the basic drugs and equipment that should be available at every dental practice required by law?
Drugs:
1. Oxygen
2. Adrenaline
3. Glucose
4. Bronchodilator
5. Aspirin
6. Hydrocortisone
Equipment:
1. Blood pressure monitor
2. Glucose monitor
3. Pulse oximeter
4. Automated external defibrillators
5. Laryngeal airways
What is syncope, what’s it’s causes and how do we manage it?
Syncope - transient self-limiting loss of consciousness. The onset is rapid and spontaneous and complete. Has presyncope phase of light-headed, nauseated, anxious and pale.
The underlying mechanism - cerebral hypoperfusion - i.e. low oxygen levels
Causes:
Vasovagal
Orthostatic
Cardiac dysrhythmias
Cardiac disease
Managmenet:
- Stop treatment
- Lie the patient down
- Support airway by removing all object for the mouth
- Measure the patient’s blood pressure and heart rate
- If the patient does not regain consciousness - call 000 begin DRSABCD
What are coronary ischaemia syndromes?
They are syndromes that result from coronary artery obstruction.
The main two that we should worry about are:
- Angina - cuases by temporary myocardial infraction from demand for more blood flow. It typically present as crushing central chest pain, radiating to left arm, neck of jaw
- Acute myocardial infraction - should be suspected if chest pain is unrelieved by nitroglycerin
What is the protocol of action if you suspect the patient having coronary ischaemia syndromes in chair?
- Stop treatment
- Measure: blood pressure, heart rate and pulse oximetry
- Assess consciousness
- To relieve symptoms use glyceryl as instructed, call the registered nurse
If patient reports pain to be THE WORST EVER DO:
1. Call 000
2. Give glyceryl to a patient with previous history of angina
3. Give aspiring 300 mg orally
4. Measure: blood pressure, heart rate and pulse oximetry
5. Start supplemental oxygen - call registered nurse
6. Provide reassurance
7. If patient loses consciousness - start DRSABCD protocol
What is cardiac arrest, what are signs and causes, what is the management of the patient?
Cardiac arrest is the stop of heart function.
Signs: no pulse, loss of consciousnes and respiration
Causes: ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, asystole
Managment:
1. Stop dental treatment
2. Call 000
3. DRSABCD
What are the different severity of an asthma attack?
- Moderate/mild: Saturation level of oxygen in blood abover 94%
- Severe: Oxygen saturation of 90-94%
Life-threatning: oxygen saturation of less than 90%
What is the management of mild or moderate asthma?
- 4 puffs of slabutamol inhaler, 1 puff at a time, shaken before each puff
- Ask the patient to take 4 breaths in and out of the spacer after each puff
- Wait 4 minutes
- If no imporvement - repeate
- If no improvement again - define this as a sever or life-threatening attack
What is the management of sever or life threatening asthma attack?
- Call 000
- Start oxygen and airway support
- Salbutamol - 12 puffs for 6+ years, 6 puffs for less than 6 year olds
- 1 puff at a time, 4 breaths in between
- When waiting for help - perform the protocol every 20 minutes
- If patient is worsening - continuously administer salbutamol
What are the signs of partial airway obstruction?
- Wheeze
- Stridor (noisy inspiration
- Laboured breathing
- Coughing spasms
- Cyanosis
What are the signs of complete obstruction of the airways?
- Inability to breath, speak, cry or cough
- Agitation, gripping of the throat
- Cyanosis
- Bulging of the neck veins
- rapid development of respiratory failure
- Loss of consciousness
What are the steps of management if an inhaled object appears to have fallen down the oropharynx?
- Stop dental treatment
- Check for object location
- If not found, put the patient into an upright position
- Refer the patient for further medical assessment
What are the steps of management if the patient is conscious with signs of airway obstruction?
- Call 000
- Reassure the patient and ask them to relax, breete deeply and try to dislodge the object by coughing
- If coughing is ineffective - give upto 5 back blows between the shoulder blades - check between each hit
- If the back blows dont work, do 5 chest thrust similar to CPR
- Continue until assistance arrives
What are the steps of management if the patient is unconscious with signs of airway obstruction?
- Call 000
- Inspect the back of the throat for foreign object
- Start DRSABCD
- Consider performing cricothyroidotomy
- DO NOT DO THE HEIMLICH MANOEURVE
What are the sings and symptoms of stroke?
- Transient loss of consciousness
- Difficulty of moving one side of the body
- Confusion
- Difficulty speaking
What are the steps to managing a patient with a stroke?
- Stop dental treatment
- Call 000
- Measure: blood pressure, heart rate and pulse oximetry
- Start oxygen and airway support
- Monitor vital signs
What is the management of seizures?
If history of epilepsy or seisures is present - please use a bite block on the patient
- Stop dental treatment
- Ensure patient is not in danger
- Turn the patient to the side
- Avoid restrainning
- Wait until seizure stops
- Maintain airways
- Assess the patient
- If still unconscious, call 000 and maintain airways
What to do if you given the patient a partial paralysis of priocular muscles because of the injection intro the parotid plexus?
- Stop administratioe patchn of local anaesthetic
- Explain what happened
- Tell the patient to not rub their eye
- Close the eye with an eye patch
- Keep the patient under observation until the ability to blink starts to return
- Advise patient not to drive
- Phone the patient in 12 hours and make sure the issue resolved - if not refer for extra medical care
How to manage a person with hypoglycaemia?
- Stop dental treatment
- Give 15 g of glucose or a similar drink or food
- Measure blood glucose - if does not return to normal - repeat the dose
- If after 3 doses normal blood sugar not returned - call for help
- If unconscious call 000 than DRSABCD
How to manage a person with hyperglycaemia?
Call 000
When does an addisonian crisis occur and how to manage it?
Usually occurs in patient with hyperthyroidism or use of corticosteroids 6-12 hours after surgica; stress
Managment:
1. Call 000
2. Give hydrocortisone 200 mg
3. Think about GIVING MORE STEROID BEFORE PROCEDURES
What is step by step management of mild urticaria or angiodema?
- Stop dental treatment
- Remove or stop administration of the allergen
- Recommend oral anti-histamine
What is step by step management of extensive urticaria or angiodema ro swelling involving eyelids, lips or tongue?
- Stop dental treatment
- Remove or stop administarion of the allergen
- Refer for urgent medical attention; systemic corticosteroids may be indicated
What is step by step urticaria or angiodema with associated hypotension and evidence of anaphylaxis?
- Stop dental treatment
- Remove or stop administration of the allergen
- Call 000
- Give intramuscular injection of adrenaline
What is the step by step management of a patient with anaphylaxis?
- Stop dental treatment
- Remove or stop administration of the allergen
- Lie patient flat
- Give an intramuscular injection of adrenaline
- Call 000
- Start supplemental oxygen and airway support if needed
- DRABCD
- Repeat adrenaline every 5 minutes
What are the 5 most common and important cardiovascular diseases we should know about?
- Congestive heart failure
- Ischaemic Heart disease
- Cardiac arrhythmias
- Venous thrombosis
- Infective endocarditis
What is congestive heart failure, what is the aetiology and clinical features?
Definition: it is the inability of the heart, working at normal pressure, to pump enoughblood to meet the oxygen requirements of the body. Results from many diseases
Aetiology: mostly results from myocardial infreaction
Clinical features: tachycardia, neck vein distension, hepatic enlargement
What are potential ways to treat congestive heart failure?
- Treatment of systolic dysfunction with digoxin
- Reducing after-load on the heart with vasodilators like ACE inhibitors
- Reducing pre-load with diuretics and sodium restriction
What is atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, what is the aetiology and clinical features?
Definition: it is the focal narrowing of the coronary arteries as a result of the proliferation of smooth muscle cells and deposition of fats, The basic lesion is known as plaque.
Aetiology: the response to injury theory
1. Some injurious stimulus causes enodthelial damage - the chemical released during the damage cause proliferation of smooth muscle and migration of macrophages into the vessel wall - the damaged endothelium becomes more permeable to lipid and cholersterol into the intima
- These changes result in plaque formation, which becomes more disrupted leadin to platelets being activated and thrombus formation resulting in worsening obstructions
Clinical features:
1. Angina pectoris - chest pain or pressure caused by myocardial ischaemia
2. Myocardial infraction - necrosis of myocardial tissue
What are potential ways to treat angina?
- Non-pharmalogical - standard lifestyle changes
- Revascularization - coronary artery bypass grafting or other surgeries
- Pharmacological treatment - beta blocker, nitrates, calcium channel blockers or other
Important to know that treatment for unstable angina patient can not be treated - please talk to the cardiologist. If it is healthy - it is just important to tak ethat and potential medication into account. Timing is key in treatment - really stop and think about signs and sympotms of MI vs angina and get the to the hospital
What is atherosclerotic cardiac arrhythmias, what is the aetiology and clinical features?
Definition: refers to any variation in the normal heartbeat, includes disturbances of rhythm, rate or the conduction pattern of the heart
Aetiology:
1. Atrial tachycardia (popular treatment is oral anticoagulants):
1. Regular - Sonus tachycardia: physiological increase in the sinus rate above 100 bpm. Secondary to a disease process
2. Irregular - Atrial fibrilation: Irregurlarly irregular atrial rythm. Causes include stress, fever, MI
- Ventricular tachycardias:
- Regular - ventricular tachycardia: regular rhythm that occurs paroxysmally and exceeds 120 bpm. If sustained is a life threatening and leads to ventricular fibrilation - cardiac arrest
- Ventricula fibrillation: is a characterised by disordered contraction of the ventricles and therefore no cardiac output. Death unless conversion to an effective rhythm is accomplished.
What is atherosclerotic venous thrombosis (deep venous thrombosis), what is the aetiology, predisposing factors and clinical features?
Definition: DVT occurs when a blood clot forms in the lower extremities or the pelvic veins. The exact aetiology in unknown. Thrombi can become pulmonary emboli, this tendency is pronounced for clots above the politeal fossa.
Predisposing factors: varicose veins, immobilisation
Clinical features: Unilateral leg pain and swelling, tenderness, increase in the circumference
What are potential ways to treat DVT?
- Anticoagulants
- Rapid mobilisation, foot exercises and anti-thrombus stockings
What is infective endocarditis, what is the aetiology, predisposing factors and clinical features?
Definition: Infective endocarditis, also called bacterial endocarditis, is an infection caused by bacteria that enter the bloodstream and settle in the heart lining, a heart valve or a blood vessel. IE is uncommon, but people with some heart conditions have a greater risk of developing it.
Predisposing factors:
1. Prosthetic cardiac valves
2. Previous infective endocarditis
3. Some congenital hear diseases
4. Cardiac transplantation with subsequent development of cardiac valvulopathy
5. Rheumatic heart disease
Dental procedures could induce harmful bacteremia - please contact the cardiologist for their needed anti-biotics
What are the most common antibiotics used for prophylaxis?
- Amoxicillin 2g 1 hour before procedure
- Clindamycin 600mg 1 hour before procedure
What are some of the important information that needs to be considered when treating a patient with congestive heart failure?
- Patient wit heart failure may have difficulty breathing thus may not tolerate a supone chair position
- Underlying condition causing heart failure may need special consideration
- Patient taking none selective beta blockers - need to consider the amount of epinephrine injected
What are some of the important information that needs to be considered when treating a patient with ischaemic heart disease (angina)?
- Need to reduce the stress and anxiety
- Patient taking none selective beta blockers - need to consider the amount of epinephrine injected
- Patient taking aspirin may have excessive bleeding
- Patient who had coronary artery bypass graft may require antibiotics
What are some of the important information that needs to be considered when treating a patient with ischaemic heart disease (myocardial infraction)?
- Need to reduce the stress and anxiety
- Patient taking none selective beta blockers - need to consider the amount of epinephrine injected
- Patient taking aspirin may have excessive bleeding
- Patient who had coronary artery bypass graft may require antibiotics
- Patient may have some degree of heart failure
- If patient has a pacemaker, some dental equipment may potentially cause electromagnetic interference
Remember of having INR of less than 3.5 and speak to the cardiologist
What are some of the important information that needs to be considered when treating a patient with cardiac arrhythmias?
- Need to reduce the stress and anxiety
- Patient taking none selective beta blockers - need to consider the amount of epinephrine injected
- Patient taking aspirin or warfarin may have excessive bleeding
- Patient who had coronary artery bypass graft may require antibiotics
- If patient has a pacemaker, some dental equipment may potentially cause electromagnetic interference
- Patient with preexisting arrhythmia are at an increased risk of serious complications such as angina, MI and other
Remember of having INR of less than 3.5 and speak to the cardiologist