Neuro Flashcards
How do you treat seizures in the community?
PR diazepam or buccal midazolam
How would you localise a lesion which causes facial paralysis with forehead sparring?
UMN lesion caused by the contralateral side
Sx of Ramsay Hunt Syndrome?
Ipsilateral LMN lesion
Facial paralysis (including the forehead), vertigo, hearing loss or hyperacusis, tinnitus and ear pain/rash
Which CNs can be affected by acoustic neuroma, what symptoms will this cause?
CN V, VII and VIII
V = absent corneal reflex
VII = facial nerve paralysis
VIII = vertigo, unilateral hearing loss and tinnitus
What is the commonest neurological presentation of sarcoidosis?
Facial nerve palsy
What should you always do in patients with a GCS of 3-8 and a known head injury?
ICP monitoring
What should you suspect in blurred (binocular) vision post-facial trauma?
Depressed fracture of the zygoma (cheek bone)
Which nerve injury will result in weakness of finger abduction and thumb adduction?
T1 injuries
Which features characterise Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease?
Rapid onset dementia and myoclonus
What causes a bitemporal hemianopia?
Optic chiasm compression
How can you localise homonymous quadrantopias?
Inferior quadrantopias are in the parietal lobe
Superior quadrantopias are in the temporal lobe
A patient has a left sided visual field defect, which side of the brain is affected?
Right
Sx and Mx of trigeminal neuralgia?
Unilateral electric-shock pains evoked by light touch e.g. brushing hair/teeth
Mx = carbamazepine, refer to neurology if they fail to respond
What is the 1st line management of focal seizures?
Lamotirgine
Which type of amnesia is an indication for non-contrast CT head in head injury?
Retrograde amnesia of >30 mins
Sx of syringomyelia?
Cape like loss of pain and temperature sensation due to spinothalamic compression
What do ring enhancing lesions of the brain imply? How do you treat?
Brain abscesses. Treat with IV cephalosporins (e.g. ceftriaxone) and IV metronidazole
What should you suspect as a cause of fluctuating consciousness in the elderly and alcoholics?
SDH
What is the most common cause of EDH?
Middle meningeal artery rupture due to a pterion fracture
In a non-contrast CT what will cause a hyperdense collection?
An acute bleed
Sx and Mx of Bell’s Palsy?
Ipsilateral LMN paralysis
Facial paralysis (including the forehead), post-auricular pain, altered taste, dry eyes and hyperacusis
Mx = oral prednisolone within 72 hours
When should you non-contrast CT head in <1 hour?
Head injury with:
GCS <13 initially or <15 after 2 hours of the incident
Suspected open or depressed skull #
Sx of base of skull #
Post-traumatic seizure
Focal neurological deficit
>1 episode of vomiting
Which condition is associated with bilateral vestibular schwannomas?
Neurofibromatosis Type 2
Where do acoustic neuromas most commonly occur?
At the cerebellopontine angle
What is the gold standard for diagnosis of venous sinus thrombosis?
MRI venogram
When should you CT head a patient within 8 hours?
If they have loss of consciousness or amnesia following a head injury and one of:
>= 65 years old, bleeding disorder or clotting abnormality including anticoagulants, dangerous mechanism of injury (e.g. fall from more than 5 stairs or >1m), >30 mins retrograde amnesia
If a patient is on warfarin and has a head injury but no other symptoms, should you CT head?
Yes within 8 hours
What is the most common tumour to metastasise to the brain? What are some other tumours which commonly metastasise?
Lung - most common
Also breast, bowel, kidney and skin (mainly melanoma)
What is the difference between a medical and surgical 3rd nerve palsy
Medical = spares the pupils and will be painless e.g. in diabetes
Surgical = painful and associated with fixed dilated pupil
Which nerves control eye movements?
All are controlled by CNIII except lateral rectus (controlled by CN VI) and superior oblique (controlled by CN IV)
How do you investigate GBS?
Nerve conduction studies
How do you investigate MG?
Anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies
How do you localise focal seizures?
Temporal = aura (often epigastric) and automatisms
Frontal = head/leg movements and posturing, post-ictal weakness and dysphagia, Jacksonian march and Todd’s paresis
Parietal = paraesthesia
Occipital = floaters/flashes
What is seen on LP in GBS?
Isolated raised proteins
What should you consider in a painful 3rd nerve palsy?
Posterior communicating artery aneurysm
How does a posterior inferior cerebellar stoke present?
Ataxia, nystagmus, dysphagia, ipsilateral facial nerve palsy/Horner’s syndrome with contralateral limb sensory loss
Which type of seizures are worsened by carbamazepine?
Myoclonic and absence seizures
Name 1 important side effect of phenytoin?
Peripheral neuropathy
What is a common complication of intraventricular heaemorrhages?
Hydrocephalus
What causes subacute degeneration of the spinal cord? Which tracts does it affect?
Vitamin B12 deficiency
Affects the dorsal columns and lateral corticospinal tracts - impaired proprioception and vibration with UMN signs in the legs
Sx of subacute degeneration of the spinal cord?
Loss of proprioception and vibration then distal paraesthesia
UMN signs in the legs (Babinski positive, brisk knee but absent ankle jerk reflexes)
How should you immediately treat TIA? What should you give for secondary prevention?
Immediate = 300mg aspirin
Secondary prevention = 75mg clopidogrel
What is seen on scan in normal pressure hydrocephalus? What symptoms are seen?
Large ventricles but normal pressure
Sx = dementia, incontinence and disturbed gait
What is a sunsetting gaze?
Failure of upward gaze, it occurs in children presenting with severe hydrocephalus
What is the most common symptom of carbon monoxide poisoning? What other symptoms may occur?
Headache = most common
Also nausea and vomiting, vertigo, confusion and weakness
How do we investigate carbon monoxide poisoning?
Do ABG, pulse oximetry may be falsely elevated.
Measure carboxyhaemoglobin levels, they should be <10% in smokers and <3% in non-smokers. If raised treat!
How do we treat carbon monoxide poisoning?
100% high flow oxygen, target sats 100%. Continue treatment until all symptoms have resolved
Sx of lambert eaton syndrome? What antibodies are seen?
Limb girdle weakness mainly affecting the lower limbs, hyporeflexia, and autonomic symptoms. In the beginning muscle strength improves with use. Eye symptoms are not commonly seen
Voltage gated calcium channel antibodies may be seen