This hot case usually circles the following issues:
Previous hot cases with this sort of theme to them can be found below.
The standard introductionAsk examiners about turning up the lights The environmentThe physical examinationThe details of this section can be seen in the opposite column. The obs and investigationsThe Presentation"This is an abdominal catastrophe, with the following organ system complications..." |
The Physical Examination in Brief DetailAsk the examiners to sit the patient up Ask the examiners about any language barriers
Ask examiners to lay the patient flat. |
There is nothing special here that you wouldn't find in any horribly septic patient.
One can ask the examiners the following questions:
One should ask about the following parameters:
One should ask to look at the pressure-volume loops.
Think about ARDS.
Increased abdominal compartment pressure results in a reflex increase in PEEP, and the PEEP for this patient may be high. Tidal volumes may be low due to decreased compliance, resulting from compression by abdominal contents.
There may be surgical drains (what is in them? How much of it?). Asking how much has been coming out may be relevant in a hot case which focuses on the diagnosis of a shock state.
The pleural catheters are also interesting. One should make a mental note of whether the ICCs are on free drainage or on suction. The content of these drains could be informative, especially if one notices blood or chyle.
A CVVHDF or SLEDD process may be in progress. The savvy candidate may wish to ask the following questions:
These questions may go unanswered.
This stage is critically important. The drug and fluid infusions which are currently in progress give a clue as to what problem is currently being addressed. One should not neglect the labelled bags; the choice of antibiotics gives one some idea of where the source of sepsis is thought to be.
One may encounter the following substances:
Ideally, one should get the patient sitting up to 30-45°. This may not be possible. However, one should still ask for it.
Ideally, the patient should be exposed from the waist up. The candidate can then stand back and look for anything externally obvious:
Performing the GCS should be the first step, unless you notice that a neuromuscular junction blocker is among the infusions. The level of consciousness then determines how you go about examining the rest of the patient.
A traditionalist, who is examining Mr Bloggs, would approach the GCS in the following manner:
One has just performed a GCS assessment; one is still holding the hands.
Now, time to look at them more closely.
First, one should spent a second assessing whether they are warm or cold.
Then, one can focus on the nails. Nail signs are numerous and deserve their own page. One should not get distracted with these.
Done with the nails, one may want to briefly consider (and maybe even comment upon) the presence of any sort of characteristic deformities, eg. assymetrical wasting of the small muscles, or the joint changes of rheumatoid arthritis.
Next comes the pulse. While one still has both of the patient's hands, one ought to try to compare the radial pulses. It would be worthwhile to look up at the arterial line trace at this stage; abnormalities such as the widened pulse pressure of aortic regurgitation may not have been noticed until this stage.
Tone of the upper limbs
Move up from the hands. While you are still holding the hands, you can perform a sort of gross examination of tone by pronating and supinating the wrists, and by flexing and extending the elbows.
Asterixis
In the conscious patient, it may be possible to assess asterixis by asking the patient to hold both their arms up with the wrists dorsiflexed.
Cubital fossa
Examine the cubital fossa for
One should then palpate the axillary lymph nodes.
Palpate the neck:
The cranial nerves may not yield a large amount of useful information in the examination of the abdominal catastrophe. One may wish to limit onself to the examination of the pupils, if the patient is unconscious.
One needs only to focus on the quality/volume of the secretions, and the duration of intubation.
Palpation:
One puts both their hands on the chest to assess the symmetry of chest expansion.
Percussion:
One might wish to percuss the chest. If this is done in a slick fashion, it can be forgiven.
Changes in percussion resonance may be worth commenting on.
Auscultation:
One may begin by auscultating the apices anteriorly. Then, one should auscultate as posteriorly as possible. The money is in the bases.
Palpation:
The clever candidate will make a big show of palpating both the apex and the right sternal edge.
Auscultation:
One should auscultate in the following sequence:
The various clicks and murmurs one encounters are discussed elsewhere.
For this, one should ask to lay the patient flat.
Abdominal observation
Abdominal palpation
Abdominal percussion
Abdominal auscultation
The pelvic content would have been palpated during the abdominal examination.
The more important part of this examination is the groin.
At this stage, the patient should be re-draped - cover them from the waist up, and uncover their legs.
Observation and palpation of the pelvis:
Examination of the lines
Examination of the genitals and rectum
Once one is finished with the pelvis, one should cover it again, so that only the legs are sticking out.
One should ask to remove TEDs and compression stockings.
Leg muscle tone
The best way to test muscle tone is by holding the knee. Roll the knee gently to distract the patient; then try to lift it off the bed. In the presence of increased tone, the leg will remain straight and the whole thing will lift up; with normal or decreased tone, only the knee will bend
Calf tenderness
In the conscious patient, one might be able to assess whether a gentle calf squeeze produces the characteristic pain which suggests a DVT may be present.
This brings one to the feet, and to the beginning of the neurological examination.
The feet would have already been palpated to assess their temperature, and to look for pitting oedema.
Observation of the feet
One should look specifically for changes suggestive of chronic diabetic foot disease, or chronically poor vascular supply.
Palpation of the feet
This should consist of palpating the dorsalis pedis and posterior tibial pulse.
Babinsky reflex
One should test the Babinsky bilaterally.
Clonus
One should attempt to assess clonus in both feet.
A detailed neurological examination is not usually called for.
Usually, it is enough to determine whether the patient is conscious or unconscious. Abdominal pain may prevent them from participating in leg raise exercises.
Power of the muscle groups may be tested in the following sequence:
Ask to see the obs chart. If it is not allowed, ask for the following:
One may also wish do demonstrate an interest in the trends of any sort of advanced haemodynamic monitoring, eg. cardiac index as measured by PAC or PiCCO
One needs to show an interest in the following labs:
One definitely needs to ask about the laparotomy findings.
One should always ask for the following:
"Mr Bloggs is suffering from severe sepsis from an abdominal source."
"I have come to the conclusion that the source of sepsis [is well controlled / is not controlled] on the basis of the following findings: [insert clinical findings here]"
"I also note the following organ failures: [list organ problems]."
"I would like to confirm my diagnosis with the following investigations: [insert appropriate investigations]"
"The current management issues are as follows: [a brief list of management priorities]"
"I would approach the management of these issues in the following manner: [list of management strategies; it helps to organise this into an A,B,C,D,E approach if one has a complex multisystem problem to manage]"
Number of previous hot cases in this topic: 6
Princess Alexandra Hospital |
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Princess Alexandra Hospital |
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Westmead Hospital |
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Royal Brisbane Hospital |
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Royal Brisbane Hospital |
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Unspecified hospital |
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