Presenting complaint and ddx Flashcards
headache
- vascular: subarachnoid heamorrhage, heamatoma (subdural or extradural), cerebral venous thrombosis, cerebellar infarct.
- infection: meningitis, encephalitis
- vision threatening: temporal arthritis, acute glaucoma, cavernous sinus thrombosis, pituitary apoplexy, posterior leucoencephalopathy
- Intercranial pressure: SOL (tumour abcess or cyst), cerebral oedema (trauma or altitude), hydrocephalus, malignant hypertension, idiopathic intercranial hypertension
- Dissection: carotid artery
ddx non-sinister headache
- Tension type headache
- Migraine
- Sinusitis
- medication overdose
- TMJ syndrome
Confusion (delirium)
- infection: (chest, urinary, enchalitis, brain abcess, sepsis)
- Drugs: diuretics, thyroid medication, digoxin or withdrawal from medications)
- metabolic: electrolyte disturbances (hypercapnia, Na, thiamine)
- trauma: subdural or extradural heamatoma
- stroke or MI
blackout
- reflex (vasovagal response)
- cardiac (rhythm or outlet obstruction) Arrythmias
- orthostatic - drugs (antihypertensives and antisympathetics)
- cerebralvascular (vertebral basilar insufficiency)
- non-syncopal: intoxication and head trauma, metabolic, epilepsy
lateral neck lump
think anatomically:
Artery: carotid artery aneurysm, subclavian artery aneurysm, carotid body tumour
nerves: neurofibromas or schwannoma
Lymphatic: malformation
lymphoma, infection
salivatory glands: infection, autoimmune, neoplasm
larynx: laryngocele
pharynx: pharngeal pouch
branchial arch remanant: brachial cyst/ sinus/ fistula
skin or superficial subcutaneous: lipoma, epidermal cyst, abcess, dermiod cyst.
muscle. cartilage. bone: sarcoma, cervical rib, torticollis.
midline neck lump
- Thyriod: physiological goitre, multinodular goitre, graves’ disease, hashimoto’s thyroiditis, thyroglossal cyst
- non-thyriod:lipoma, dermoid cyst, epidermal cyst, abcess, lymphoma
heamatemesis
- inflammation: stomach (gastritis)/ duodenitis
- esophagus (oesophagitis, trauma, boerhaave’s oesphagus performation) varices cancer
- mallory weiss tears
- stomach cancer
- arteriovenous malformations
high dysphagia
functional: stroke, parkinson’s disease, myasthenia gravis, multiple sclerosis, myotonic dystrophy
Structural: mural (cancer, pharyngeal pouch, cricopharyngeal bar)
low dysphagia
functional: achalsia, chagas’ disease, nutcracker oesophagus, diffuse esophageal spasm, CREST syndrome
structural:
lumen: foreign body
mural: cancer, stricture, plummer vinson syndrome, schatzki ring, congenital atresia, post-fundoplication
Extrinsic: mediastinal mass, retrosternal goitre, bronchial carcinoma, thoracic aortic aneurysm, pericardial effusion
acute cough
dry: asthma, rhinitis/sinusitis with post nasal drip, upper respiratory tract infection, drug induced (ACE inh), lung cancer
productive: lower respiratory tract infection (pneumonia, bronchitis)
COPD, TB
chronic cough
dry: asthma, GORD, post nasal drip, smoking, lung cancer, COPD,
productive: bronchiectasis, TB, lung cancer, recurrent aspiration, Cystic fibrosis
heamoptysis
- Infective: TB, pneumonia, lung abcess, mycetoma
- neoplasticism: primary lung cancer or met
- vascular: pulmonary embolism, bleeding tendency, vascular bronchial fistula
- inflammatory: goodpastures syndrome., granulomatosis with polyangiitis, hereditary heamorrhagic telangiectasia
- degenerative: bronchiectasis
chest pain
- musculoskeletal inflammation
- heart: ACS, pericarditis, stable angina, vasospasm (cocaine)
- PE
- pancreatitis and cholcystitis
- Aortic dissection/ aneurysm
shortness of breath
- insufficient air getting into the lungs:
obstruction: asthma, COPD, tumour, airway oedema
intra thoracic: pneumothorax., PEffusion
extrathoracic: chest wall abnormality (pectus excavatum, kyphoscoliosis) - not enough air getting into the blood:
alveolar damage: emphysema, interstitial lung disease
fluid between the alveolar wall and the capillary
oedema (heart/liver/ kidney failure)
inflammation (pneumonia) - insufficient O2 getting around the body
CO= heart failure, aortic stenosis, immobility
Anaemia
shock
ddx of SOB based on time frame seconds to minutes
seconds to minutes
- bronchospasm (asthma or COPD)
- anaphylaxis
- laryngeal oedema
- pulmonary embolism
- acute epiglottis
SOB time frame hours to days
- pneumonia
- heart failure
- pleural effusion
- ARDs
- post op atelectasis
SOB weeks to months
- COPD
- Chronic asthma
- Heart failure
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- anaemia
Breast Lump
- benign cystic change
- fibroadenoma
- cyst
- carcinoma
- other: phyllodes tumour
epigastric pain
- pancreas: acute pancreatitis
- stomach: PUD (perforation), gastritis/ doudenitis, borhaaves perforation
- heart: MI
- Aorta: AAA
- Bowel: mesentaric ischemia
- gallbladder: cholecystitis (acute/ ascending) biliary colic
- Lung: basal pneumonia
nausea and vomiting based on Brain centres
- vestibular system- BPPV, labrinthitis, motion sickness, Meniere’s disease
- CNS- pain, anxiety, raised ICP, meningitis, encephalitis
- chemoreceptors trigger zone= meds, alcohol, e-, toxins
- CN 9 and 10 - GI obstruction, GI infection, inflammation of the diaphragm, inflammation of the liver, pancreas, gallbladder and peritoneum
female of reproductive age vomiting
pregnancy
acute (less than one month) vomiting
- abdominal pain with fever- gastritis, food poisoning, appendicitis, mesenteric adenitis, pancreatitis
without fever- SBO, DKA, drug SE or overdose, mesentaric ischemia, MI, testicular torsion - headache- meningitis, raised ICP, SOL, migraine
- Vértigo- labyrinthitis, meniere, BPPV, acoustic neuroma
- shortly after food- gastric outlet obstruction,
- none- drug SE, anxiety, hyperthyroid, renal failure plus uremia, cyclic vomiting syndrome