Neuro - symptoms + signs Flashcards
Meningitis - symptoms + signs
- Non-specific features
- fever, headache, N+V, lethargy, irritability, muscle/joint pains, refusing food, respiratory symptoms
- Stiff neck
- Non-blanching/purpuric rash
- Back ridgidity
- Photophobia
- Altered mental state
- Kering’s sign - pain + resistance on passive knee extension with hips fully flexed
- Brudzinski’s sign - hips flex on bending the head forward
- Paresis, focal neurological defcits (incl cranial nerve involvement, abnormal pupils)
- Seizures, LOC
- Shock (tachy, hypotension, resp distress, poor urine output, increased cap refill time, altered mental state, leg pain, cold hands + feet, unusual colour)
Subdural haemorrhage signs and symptoms
Fluctuating consciousness Confusion Personality changes Symptoms of increased ICP Can present as UMN signs (e.g. pronator drift)
Main difference between meningitis + encephalitis
In meningitis consciousness is not impaired where is in encephalitis it is usually always affected
Anterior cerebral artery stroke symptoms + signs
Contralateral hemiparesis lower limb>upper limb
Behavioural changes
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Middle cerebral artery stroke symptoms + signs
Contralateral hemiparesis upper limb/face>lower limb
Contralateral hemisensory loss (makes sense because somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobe is affected)
Apraxia (bc parietal lobe is affected - involved in bringing together + combining information needed to perform skillfull actions)
Receptive/expressive aphasia (involvement of Wernicke’s + Broca’s areas)
Broca’s area - expressive aphasia, broken speech
Wernick’s area - receptive aphasia
(optic radiation contains tracts that carry information from the lateral geniculate nucleus to the primary visual cortex in 2 loops: Meyer’s + Baum’s)
Quadrantanopia
Superior optic radiation (Baum’s loop) - parietal lobe, causes contralateral inferior quadrantopoia
Inferior optic radiation (Meyer’s loop) - temporal lobe, causes contralateral superior quadrantopoia
Hemineglect (parietal lobe)
Facial weakness
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Posterior cerebral artery stroke symptoms + signs
Contralateral homonymous hemianopia
(often damage to the occipital lobe/visual cortex leads to macular sparring - large macular representation, dual blood supply (PCA, MCA))
Visual agnosia (damage to the visual association cortex)
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Brainstem damage in stroke
Reduction in consciousness
Cranial nerve pathology
IPSILATERAL SIGNS
Cerebellar stroke
DANISH
Dydiadochochenesia Ataxia Nystagmous Intention tremor Slurred speech Hypotonia
IPSILAERAL SIGNS
Total anterior circulation stroke (TACS) vs Partial anterior circulation stroke (PACS)
Contralateral motor or sensory deficit
Homonymous hemianopoia
Higher cortical dysfunction (e.g. aphasia)
TACS - all 3 of them
PACS - any 2 of them
Posteror circulations stroke
Any of:
Isolated homonymous hemianopoia
Brainstem signs
Cerebellar ataxia
Lacunar stroke (LACS)
Any of
Pure motor deficit
Pure sensory deficit
Sensorimotor deficit
Cauda equina presentation
LMN symptoms (nerve roots affected and not the CNS so no UMN signs as in spinal cord compression)
Perianal anaesthesia
Bladder retention
leg weakness
Lacunar infarct affecting the
o Affecting the internal capsule/pons
Internal capsule - Pure motor, pure sensory, mixed motor + sensory signs
Pons - dizziness/vertigo, ataxia
Lacunar infarct affecting the
o Affecting the thalamus
loss of consciousness, hemisensory deficit
Lacunar infarct affecting the
o Affecting the basal ganglia
Dyskinesias
hemichorea, hemiballismus, parkinsonism
Intact cognition/consciousness
Lacunar infarct affecting the
o Multiple lacunar infarcts
Vascular dementia Urinary incontinence Gait apraxia Shuffling gait Normal or excessive arm-swing
Normal pressure hydrocephalus signs - popular SBA
Hakim’s triad (weird walking water)
- Urinary incontinence
- Dementia
- Gait disturbance (ataxia, shuffling)(also cognitive impairement, hyperreflexia)
Hydrocephalus symptoms + signs
Acute onset
Papilledema Headache Vomiting Impaired upward gaze Sunset eyes
Hydrocephalus symptoms + signs
Gradual onset
- Unsteady, slow, cautious gait
- Unsteady gait (Levodopa-unresponsive gait apraxia (spasticity in legs))
- Large head
- Unilateral/bilateral 6th nerve palsy (2o to raised ICP)
- Double vision
- CN palsies
- Cognitive impairement
Multiple sclerosis symptoms + signs MS
CNS so UMN signs Visual - Blindness/hemianopoia - Optic neuritis - Scotoma - Symmetrical HORIZONTAL jerking nystagmus - LR weakness - may cause double vision - Eye pain commonly exacerbated on eye movement as the inflamed optic nerve sheath is stretched - INO (intranuclear ophthalmoplegia)
Face
- Bell’s palsy
- Trigeminal neuralgia
- Paroxysmal dysarthria
Ears
- Deafness
- Unsteadiness
Autonomic system
- Bladder - urgency, frequency, incontinence, impaired bladder emptying
- Sexual problems - impotence
- Loss of thermoregulation - excess sweating
Cognitive
- Visual + auditory attention affected
- Loss of memory
Perineum + genital numbness, altered sphincter function –> characteristic feature of MS
intention tremor, ataxia, dysmetria - cerebellar signs
Lhermitte’s sign = electric shock sensations
MS with cervical posterior column involvement
Sudden neck flexion causes electric-shock sensations to the limbs
Motor neurone disease symptoms MND
MND=ALS
- UMN + LMN dysfunction
Oculomotor + sphincter functions spared!!
Limb onset more most common (usually upper limbs)
- Pt drop objects, can’t manipulate objects with one hand
- Wasting of intrinsic muscles
- Fasciculations
Lower limb problems
- Foot drop
- Gait disorder
- Difficulty rising from low chairs + climbing stairs (+ wasting, fasciculation, change in tone + reflexes unlike MG)
Progressive ASYMMETRICAL weakness of bulbar, limb, thoracic, abdominal muscles
Onset can also be bulbar (20%) - slurring of speech, emotional lability, dysphagia, wasting + fascisulation of tongue
Onset can rarely be respiratory - dyspnoea, orthropnoea, hypoventilation overnight (unrefreshing sleep, early morning headahces)
NO sensory involvement
Course of disease in myasthenia gravis
Starts in the eyes with weakness to the extrinsic ocular muscles and LPS
Myasthenis gravis symptoms
- Muscle weakness that increases with exercise and improves with rest
- Fatiguable muscles
- Ptosis (but pupils are spared unlike in Horner’s syndrome where there is miosis)
- Double vision
- Oropharungeal/appendicular weakness
Dysphagia, dysarthria
Reading aloud may provoke dysarthria of nasal speech after 3 mins
Proximal limb weakness
- difficult in getting out of chairs, climbing stairs but no muscle wasting, no fasciculations, normal tone, normal reflexes, normal sensation unlike MND
- SOB
NO sensory signs
Weakness is greater in proximal muscles (rather than distal as in GBS) + commonly involves spinal nerves
Median nerve damage symptoms
- Wasting of the thenar muscles
- Lack of ability to abduct + oppose the thumb
- Weakness in forearm pronation + wrist + finger flexion
- Sensory loss in thumb, index, middle finger + radial aspect of ring finger
Ataxic gait
what is it a sign of?
Where is it seen?
Cerebellar sign
Seen in Wernicke’s encephalopathy
Hemiplegic gait sign
Typically following a stroke
Shuffling gait sign
PD
Scissor gait sign
Cerebral palsy cord lesions (e.g. MS)
results from increased spasticity in both legs
Choreiform gait sign
Huntington’s
Wernicke’s encephalopathy triad
- Ophtalmoplegia
- Confusion
- Ataxia
Wernicke’s encephalthy triad vs NPH triad vs encehalitis
Wernicke’s encephalopathy
- Eye signs - ophthalmoplegia, nystagmus, diplopoia
- Confusion
- Ataxia (due to cerebellar damage)
NPH triad (Hakim’s triad)
- Urinary incontinence
- Dementia
- Gait disturbance (ataxia, shuffling)
Encephalitis
- Fever
- Headache
- Altered mental status
Basal skull fracture signs
haemotympanum
panda eyes
CSF leakage from ear or nose
Battle’s sign
Guillaine Barre syndrome symptoms GBS
PNS so LMN signs Weakness, paraesthesia and hyporeflexia Progresses acutely SYMMETRICAL I fasciculation T flaccid tone P ascending pattern of progressive SYMMETRICAL weakness starting at the lower extremities affects proximal before distal muscles R hyporeflexia or absent S neuropathic pain, back pain, sensory abnormalities usually mild
Autonomic symptoms - decreased sweating, decreased heat intolerance, tachycardia, HTN, postural hypotension, ileus, urinary retention
Face - Facial weakness - facial droop, facial nerve palsy, Dysphasia, dysarthria
Extra-ocular muscle weakness - Diplopoia
Bulbuar dysfunction causing oroharyngeal weakness - Dysphagia
Trigeminal neuralgia symptoms + signs
- Paroxysms of Sudden, Unilateral, Stabbing/electric-shock like pain
- Most common in 2nd + 3rd divisions of the trigeminal nerve
- Does not interfere with sleep
- Following an episode of pain there is a refractory phase of several minutes during which there will not be another paroxysm of pain even if the triggering stimulus recurs
- Autonomic symptoms - lacrimation +/- redness of eye
- Progressive increase in frequency, duration, severity of attacks
Encephalitis symptoms
o Meningism (photophobia, neck stiffness, headache)
Followed by: o Altered state of consciousness o Seizures o Personality changes o Cranial nerve palsies o Speech problems o Motor + sensory deficits o Focal neurological signs (hemianopia, aphasia, hemiparesis, ataxia, brisk tendon reflexes, babinski's signs, CN deficits) o Increased ICP