OSCE - sem 3 Flashcards
- What does PIPPA stand for?
- Positioning
- Inspection
- Palpation
- Percussion
- Ascultation
- What are the elements of the neurological examination? (5)
- General appearance, Tone, Power, Reflexes, and Coordination
Patients appearance, What are you looking for?
- How they walk in
- Muscle wasting
- Deformities or abnormal positions
- Fasciculation
- Dyskinesias
- Tone, what are you looking for?
- What are the elements?
- Assessing the resistance of the muscles in passive movement of patients joints
- Hypertonia, Spasticity/Clasp knife, Hypotonia, Rigidity
Where are you checking for in upper limb tone?
- Ask the patient to let their limbs go floppy. Then passively move each limb in turn.
- Distract the patient with conversation
- Assess upper limb tone by shaking the patient’s hand and moving the arm through different ranges of movement.
- When checking power what actions are being tested?
- Flexion
- Extension
- Abduction
- Adduction
- Opposition
- What movements can you test in the shoulder?
- Elbow?
- Wrist?
- Fingers?
- Thumb?
- Abduction & Adduction
- Flexion & Extension
- Extension & Flexion
- Flexion & extension & Abduction & Adduction
- Opposition & Flexion & Extension & Adduction & Abduction
- What movements can you test in the hip?
- Knee?
- Foot?
- Big toe?
- Flexion & Extension & Abduction & Adduction
- Flexion & Extension
- Dorsiflexion & Plantarflexion & Eversion & Inversion
- Extension
- What does SOCRATES stand for?
- Site – Location of the pain?
- Onset – When/how did it start? What made it start?
- Character – Description, type of pain (e.g. burning, shooting, stabbing, dull)?
- Radiation – Is it in just one place or does it go anywhere else? Where does it go? Associated features – e.g. nausea, vomiting, neurological deficit
- Time course – Has it changed since it began? Is it worse/better at certain times of the day?
- Exacerbating or Relieving factors – Does anything change the pain? Enquire about medication and its effectiveness
- Severity – Pain intensity- scale 0-10, interference with usual activities/sleep
- What are the steps of taking a history?
- Presenting complaint
- History of presenting complaint
- Past medical and surgical history
- Medications
- Allergies
- Family history
- Social history - Work, Alcohol, Drugs etc.
- What is the best way of getting info from a patient?
- ICE
Ideas
Concerns
Expectations
- What are the aspects of the CV systems review?
- Chest pain
- Dyspnoea
- Ankle swelling
- Palpitations
- What are the aspects of the respiratory systems review?
- Cough
- Haemoptysis
- Wheezing
- Pain
What are the aspects of the GI systems review?
- Change in weight
- Flatulence and heart burn
- Dysphagia
- Abdominal pain
- Vomiting
- Bowel habit
What are the apsects of the genitourinary system?
- Frequency
- Pain
- Altered bladder control
- Menstruation
- Sexual activity
What are the aspects of nervous system review?
- Headache
- Loss of consciousness
- Dizziness & Vertigo
- Speech and related functions
- Memory
What are the aspects of mental health assessed during the systems review?
- Mental health
- Mood
- Sleep
- Energy levels
- Concentration levels
- Enjoyment of life
- How do they see their future
- Thought of harming themselves or others
- Hallucinations (auditory or visual)
What other systems need to be checked? (3)
- Endocrine history
- Musculoskeletal system
- Skin
How do you check CN I?
- Ask if patient has noticed a problem with smelling aromas.
- Test each nostril in turn by occluding the other & ask if patient can identify smell. Smells such as coffee often used. Ask the patient to close their eyes and waft the smell towards the patient. Ensure you know the smell you are testing! Use a different smell for each nostril.
How do you check CN II?
- Pupillary reflexes i.e. light reflex & accommodation reflex
- Check & compare pupils i.e. size appropriate for lighting in room, equal
- Light reflex
- Accommodation reflex
- CN 2 is the sensory/afferent part of the light reflex
- Visual fields
How do you check the pupillary light reflex?
- ask patient to fix on distant object & ask them to place their hand between their eyes like a shark’s fin to shield the light.
- Shine the light into one eye and watch the response in that eye (it should constrict) - this is called the direct reflex.
How do you check the consensual reflex?
- Do it again but watch the response in the other eye (again this should constrict). This is called the consensual reflex.
- Repeat by shining the light into the other eye and check both the direct and consensual response.
- NB Check that the patient isn’t photophobic first & shine torch in from the side rather than directly into the eye.
How do you check the accomodation reflex?
- ask patient to fix on a distant object and then ask them to look at a close object such as your finger. Both pupils should constrict when looking at the close object. Approx 6 inches.
- CN 2 is the sensory/afferent part of the light reflex
- CN 2 is the sensory/afferent part of the accommodation reflex.
How do you check the visual fields?
- Place yourself opposite the patient at the same level and approx 1m apart
- Ask patient to remove their glasses (unless visual acuity is so poor they will not be able to see your fingers/pin)
- Ask patient to look at your eyes (not your hands) (may need to gently keep reminding them)
- Ask patient to close one eye (e.g. their left) and you close the one opposite one (your right)
- Bring your wiggling finger (or white headed pin) in from the periphery of each quadrant to the centre and ask the patient to tell you when they can see it
- Best to use both your hands in turn for each eye, rather than stretch across
- Repeat process for both eyes.
- Compare your visual fields with the patient’s (assumes your fields are normal!)(machine is more accurate)
What else can be checked with CN II?
- Visual acuity - Snellen chart is used - test each eye in turn - example result = 6/60 - patient only able to see at a distance of 6 metres what a healthy eye would be able to see at 60 metres - allowed to get a couple wrong on each line - test with and without glasses
- Fundoscopy - will not be covered during this session but there is equipment & information at the end of the handout if there is time available at the end.
- Ichihara plates - checks colour vision.
How do you check CN III?
- Supplies all the extrinsic muscles of the eye except superior oblique and lateral rectus. Eye will be abducted if there is a palsy.
- NB plays part in pupillary reflexes mentioned above. Motor/Efferent part of light reflex and motor/efferent part of accommodation reflex. Pupil with therefore be large and fixed if there is a palsy.
- NB supplies levator palpebrae superioris muscle and hence a palsy will cause a ptosis.
How do you check CN IV?
- Supplies Superior Oblique muscle (SO4)
- ask the patient to adduct and depress the eye so we are just checking that CN 4 is functioning. Patient gets diplopia when they try to look down and in.
How do you check CN V (Sensory)?
- 3 sensory branches: Ophthalmic, Maxillary, Mandibular
- Test light touch using cotton wool and pin prick using a pin
- Demonstrate on sternal area first
- Dab not stroke when using the cotton wool
- Avoid drawing blood when using the neurological pin (use a new pin for each patient and
- dispose of immediately using a sharps bin) (testing not expected)
- Start from the top and move down to assess each of the branches, comparing each side. Vary
- the time between each point of testing. Ask the patient to close their eyes and to say yes when
- they can feel it and also to tell you if it feels the same on both sides.
- NB The mandibular branch also supplies sensation to the anterior 2/3rds of the tongue - you can
- use a wooden spatula for this
How do you check CN V (Motor)?
- Muscles of mastication - Ask patient to clench their teeth whilst feeling and assessing the masseter and temporalis muscles on both sides
- Asking the patient to open their mouth against resistance and checking that the jaw descends in the midline.
- NB The Mandibular division supplies tensor tympani which decreases the vibrations of the tympanic membrane. So, if it is damaged the patient experiences hyperacusis.
- NB Other tests that you should read about but will not be tested today are…
- The corneal reflex (sensory 5 and motor 7)
- Jaw jerk using a tendon hammer (increased if bilateral 5th upper motor neurone lesions e.g.
- Bilateral strokes. NB it may be normal to have an absent or minimal response)