History Buzzwords Flashcards
Central crushing chest pain
Comes on when I walk
Goes away when I rest for a while
Stable angina
Central crushing chest pain
Comes on when I walk but also randomly, goes away by itself for a while
(or - goes away when I use my spray)
Unstable angina
Central crushing chest pain
It’s going down my jaw and left arm
I feel sick, sweaty, out of breath
ACS
I’ve been waking up at night really out of breath, I sleep with 4 pillows and my ankles are swollen
heart failure
I’ve started to get breathless when I walk, and I’m coughing up pink frothy stuff, and I get really breathless when I lie down
heart failure
I’m an elderly lady with angina, syncope and heart failure
aortic stenosis
Exclude this in any elderly patient with chest pain, exertional dyspnoea or syncope
aortic stenosis
central chest pain worse on inspiration and lying flat, relieved by leaning forward.
and I had an infection last week.
pericarditis
I’ve had spells of palpitations, to this irregularly irregular beat. They make me breathless and sometimes I feel faint or get pain in my chest.
Arrhythmias - AF is irregularly irregular and may be paroxysmal
I’ve had this sudden tearing pain in my chest, it’s going to my back.
Aortic dissection
I get this cramping pain in my leg when I walk for more than 300 yards. It goes away after I rest it for 10 mins.
Intermittent claudication
I wake up with a burning pain in my leg in the middle of the night, it only goes away if I sit up and hang my legs over the side of the bed.
Critical ischaemia
I’ve started to feel breathless when I walk up hills. I’ve got a bit of a cough, bringing up a bit of green sputum particularly in the mornings.
I’m 45 and smoke 20 a day.
COPD
Spirometry definition for COPD?
FEV1 <80% predicted
FEV1/FVC <0.7
I get really breathless and wheezy sometimes.
I wake up coughing at night, I bring up a bit of sputum.
The breathlessness comes on when I go running, it’s happening more now it’s winter.
Asthma
I keep coughing at night. Sometimes if it’s cold in the morning I get breathless.
Asthma
I’ve had this breathlessness that’s there basically all the time, it’s been getting worse. I’ve been losing weight. When I walk I get really out of breath.
I keep doves for a living.
chronic EAA
(pigeon-fanciers)
- other causes = farmer’s/mushroom-worker’s lung, malt worker’s lung, sugar worker’s lung
a couple hours after I get home from work (on a farm) I get really out of breath, have a dry cough, achey muscles and a fever
EAA
4-6h after exposure - fever, rigors, myalgia, dry cough, dyspnoea
I’ve got a cough that brings up LOADS of sputum.
A couple of times there’s been blood in it.
Bronchiectasis.
I’ve got these weird tender red lumps on my shins, and my joints all ache
Acute sarcoidosis - erythema nodosum ± polyarthralgia
I’ve got a dry cough, I get breathless when I walk and I’m able to walk less and less distance all the time. Also, my eyes are really sore and dry.
Sarcoidosis
- dry cough, exertional dyspnoea, decreased exercise tolerance, chest pain.
Lymphadenopathy, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, uveitis, conjunctivitis, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, erythema nodosum etc etc etc
I have a dry cough, I get breathless when I walk, and I’ve been really tired and lost a bit of weight.
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
I feel out of breath, and have a sharp pain in my chest when I breathe deeply
Pleural effusion, pneumothorax, PE
I’m a fit, skinny 22yo male - I’ve suddenly got really breathless and have this pain that’s worse when I breathe in and cough
Pneumothorax
I’m out of breath, have pain in my chest when I breathe in and this morning I coughed up a bit of blood
PE - may also have dizziness, syncope - could be any combo of these symptoms!
I’ve had a cough for the past 3 months, I’ve been coughing up blood, and I’ve started to feel really out of breath when I walk only a short way.
Yes, I suppose I have lost some weight, maybe 1.5 stone in the past 3 months.
I have a 40 pack year history of smoking.
Lung cancer
- also, chest pain, lethargy, anorexia, recurrent pneumonia
I’ve been coughing up blood, and I’ve noticed there’s some in my wee too.
Goodpastures
I’ve had episodes of nosebleeds, and sinusitis. I’ve noticed there’s sometimes blood in my wee.
I’ve also coughed a lot, sometimes coughing up blood.
Wegener’s granulomatosis.
I’ve been feeling breathless and have a cough that’s bringing up green sputum. I’ve had some fevers, I’m off my food and I feel so tired and rubbish. I coughed up a bit of blood once, but I think it’s just because I’ve been coughing so much.
Pneumonia
I’ve got a productive cough, feel completely rubbish. I’ve also noticed some weight loss, and get really sweaty at night.
TB
I have this burning pain right at the bottom of the middle of my chest. It’s worse after meals and when I lie down. I also get this horrible sour taste at the back of my throat sometimes.
GORD
I’m a bulimic that throws up a lot, now I’m coughing up LOADS of blood
Mallory-Weiss tear
I get this pain at the top of my tummy, it gets worse after I eat
Gastric ulcer
I get this pain at the top of my tummy, it gets better after a meal or if I drink a glass of milk.
Duodenal ulcer
I’ve had difficulty swallowing. It’s always been solids and liquids together, and I sometimes regurgitate food a bit.
Achalasia
I’ve had difficulty swallowing. It started off just some foods, but now it’s all foods apart from yoghurt. I’ve lost quite a bit of weight as well.
Oesophageal cancer
I’ve been having this diarrhoea, it absolutely stinks and doesn’t flush down. I get crampy tummy pains and feel all bloated. I’ve got painful cracks in the corners of my mouth and feel so tired all the time. I’ve lost a bit of weight.
Coeliac disease
HLA-DQ2
villous atrophy + crypt hyperplasia, reversed on gluten-free diet.
I get diarrhoea 5-6 times a day, with blood and mucus in it sometimes. I get crampy abdo pain. No, I’ve not had any mouth ulcers.
UC.
Continual histology from rectum backwards. Inflammatory infiltrate, crypt abscesses, goblet cell depletion. Inflammation is NOT mucosal.
I get urgent diarrhoea, I have to get up in the middle of the night and then I’ll go 5 times in an hour.
I get tummy pain, and I’ve lost some weight. I have been getting lots of mouth ulcers. No, I haven’t seen any blood in my stool.
Crohn’s.
Skip lesions. Mouth to anus. Transmural granulomatous inflammation.
I get crampy abdominal pain that goes away when I defecate.
I sometimes get diarrhoea, sometimes it’s more formed.
I get bloating, mucous PR, and find when I need to go it’s quite urgent but then feels like I haven’t fully emptied my bowel.
It’s all worse when I’m stressed.
IBS
I’m constipated, vomiting, nauseous and off my food. I have colicky abdo pain too.
Intestinal obstruction
This bad pain came on around my belly button yesterday afternoon, and I’ve not been able to eat since. This morning I vomited twice and now the pains gone down to the bottom right hand side of my tummy.
Appendicitis
I’ve been passing blood from my bottom, it’s coating the outside of the stool. I’ve been going less frequently, and it never feels like I’ve finished when I do go.
I’ve lost some weight.
Bowel Ca
I’ve been having some indigestion, and I’ve noticed that I feel full after eating only small amounts of food.
Stomach Ca
I’ve got this AWFUL tummy pain, that’s come on today. It’s constant and right in the middle. I’ve no clinical signs but I’m REALLY ILL.
acute mesenteric ischaemia
I’ve got lower left sided abdominal pain and bloody diarrhoea. It’s been going on for a while, I have no other symptoms.
Ischaemic colitis
I’ve had some altered bowel habit, and colicky pain in my LIF, that’s relieved by defecation. I’m nauseous.
I go on to have a fever, and generalised peritonitis.
Diverticulitis
It’s REALLY painful when I poo. Sometimes there’s blood on the paper and in the pan.
Anal fissures.
I’ve got bright red rectal bleeding, it’s on the paper and drips into the pan. It’s never been painful, and has been getting more frequent. I’ve had no change in bowel habit.
Haemorrhoids.
I’ve got severe colicky RUQ pain that radiates to my back.
My pain is worse after I eat a fatty meal.
Biliary colic.
I’ve got severe colicky RUQ pain that radiates to my back and I’ve been feeling a bit feverish.
I’ve vomited twice from the pain.
Acute cholecystitis.
I’ve got severe colicky RUQ pain that radiates to my back and is worse after a takeaway. I’ve been feeling a bit feverish and my wife reckons my eyes have gone a weird yellow colour.
Cholangitis.
Causes of acute pancreatitis?
Gallstones
Ethanol
Trauma
Steroids Mumps Autoimmune (PAN) Scorpion bite Hyperlipidaemia, hypothermia, hypercalcaemia ERCP and emboli Drugs
I’ve got this awful pain right at the top middle of my tummy, it goes to my back but gets a bit better when I sit forward.
It’s been here since this morning, it’s really bad. I’ve been vomiting loads since it came on.
Acute pancreatitis
I’m an IVDU. I’ve started to go yellow and have been feeling feverish and generally rubbish, nauseous and off my food.
Viral hep (likely hep B)
I’m off my food, I’ve lost weight and I’ve had some funny fevers. Occasionally I get a weird dull ache in my RUQ.
liver metastases - jaundice appears late, except for in cholangiocarcinoma
I’ve lost my appetite, I’ve lost lots of weight, I have RUQ pain and I’ve gone yellow. My tummy is weirdly swollen all over, it’s HUGE.
HCC
My wife noticed a while ago that my eyes had gone a weird yellow colour, and now my skin has gone yellow too. I’m itchy all over and feel really nauseous.
No, I don’t have any tummy pain at all.
My stools are pale and my urine dark.
Ca head of pancreas
painless obstructive jaundice
I’ve got this pain right in the middle just below my ribs - it’s going to my back, but sitting forwards relieves it a bit.
I’ve lost lots of weight and I’m a bit off my food.
Ca body/tail of pancreas.
I’m really tired and have been a bit breathless lately. Sometimes I feel quite faint, and I’ve had weird palpitations sometimes too.
Anaemia - also, headache, tinnitus, anorexia.
Possibly also angina, if there’s pre-existing coronary artery disease.
I’m really tired, a bit breathless and have this weird lemon tinge to my skin.
B12 deficiency (anaemia) lemon tinge = pallor + mild jaundice
I’m always tired, I get breathless quite easily.
Also, I get episodes of severe pain in my hands and feet (sometimes elsewhere). I think it gets brought on by cold or dehydration.
Sickle cell anaemia - vaso-occlusive painful crises.
Can get - mesenteric ischaemia, stroke, avascular necrosis (e.g. of femoral head), leg ulcers, low-flow priapism.
I get really itchy after a hot bath. I get a burning sensation in my fingers and toes.
Polycythaemia rubra vera - malignant proliferation of red blood cells in the marrow.
Signs of hyperviscosity also - headaches, dizziness, tinnitus, visual disturbance.
I’ve got a warm, red, swollen, tender calf. There’s some pitting oedema.
DVT
Risk factors for a DVT?
age, pregnancy, oestrogen (pill, HRT), trauma, surgery, past DVT, cancer, obesity, immobility, thrombophilia
I’m a child, I’ve been bleeding and bruising easily, I’m anaemic, and I’ve been getting lots of colds and other infections.
I’ve felt a small lump in my armpit and one in my neck.
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia
- commonest cancer in children.
BLAST CELLS
I’m 65, I’m anaemic, I’ve had lots of weird bruises without really hurting myself, lots of colds and I’ve weirdly noticed that my gums have got really swollen and sore.
Acute Myeloid Leukaemia
- commonest acute leukaemia in adults, increases with age.
(gum hypertrophy)
Auer rods!
I am 40-60 years old. I’ve had weight loss, fever, tiredness, sweats over the past few months.
I’m anaemic, I’ve had some bruising, I’ve had a couple of episodes of gout.
Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia
gout due to increased purine breakdown.
Philadelphia chromosome! t(9;22), BCR-ABL fusion gene on chromosome 22.
I am 89 years old. I’m a bit anaemic, and routine FBC has shown I have high lymphocytes. I’ve got a couple of rubbery lumps in my neck.
Chronic Lymphoblastic Leukaemia - often asymptomatic.
Commonest in elderly.
good prognosis - slow progression so they live for years.
I’m 22 years old. I had glandular fever 6 months ago. I’ve had generalised itching for 2 weeks.
I’ve stopped drinking alcohol as it gives me weird pains in my neck when I do.
I have some painless rubbery lumps in my neck if I really feel for them.
I’ve lost some weight and had some sweating at night. I’ve been really tired lately.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma - young adult’s and the elderly!
risk increased by: affected sibling, EBV, SLE, obesity.
Reed-Sternberg cells.
A = no systemic symptoms, apart from pruritus.
B symptoms = gever, weight loss, night sweats.