Surgical Histories and Investigations Flashcards
What questions do you always ask about GI issues during a history (PC)?
Weight loss, appetite, nausea and vomiting, pain, PR bleeding, bowel habits, dark urine, pale stools, jaundice.
What questions do you always ask about urological issues during a history (PC)?
Infective: frequency, urgency, nocturia, dysuria
Obstructive: hesitancy, intermittency, poor flow, pis-en-deux (urgency after going to the loo)
What are key to past medical history to ask when a patient forgets? (specific to surgeries)
Thread Hypertension Rheumatic fever Epilepsy Asthma Diabetes Myocardial infarction Cerebrovascular accident Jaundice
What is CAGE when taking an alcohol history?
Questioning dependence. Conscious of amount Apparent to others Guilty about the amount Eye opener - ever in the morning
What is key to ask in a trauma history?
Allergies Medications PMH and pregnancies Last meal Events
Dressed In A Surgeon’s Gown Physicians Might Make Some Progress is an acronym for how to present a condition to seniors
Definition Incidence (e.g. common) Age Sex Geography (where are we) Pathology - Macro, Micro Symptoms/Signs Prognosis
What are the types of acquired illness?
Vitamin D - Vascular Infection/Inflammatory Traumatic Autoimmune Metabolic Iatrogenic Neoplastic Drugs
What are the three categories of surgical investigations?
Bedside
Non-invasive
Invasive
What are bedside investigations we can do?
Vital signs
Urine dip/beta HCG
BM
What are non-invasive investigations we can do?
Erect CXR
+/- AXR
USS
CT scan
What are invasive investigations we can do?
Blood tests
Endoscopy
Diagnostic laparoscopy/laparotomy
What do we check for on chest radiograph?
Adequacy, alignment, artefacts Breathing Cardiac (only if PA film) Diaphragm Everything else e.g. bones
What do we check for on chest radiograph?
Adequacy, alignment, artefact
Bowel gas pattern, bones
Cutaneous shadow
What blood tests can we do?
Full blood count and/or iron studies Urea and electrolytes LFTs CRP Clotting Group and Save x2 Tumour markers
