#1 Take a history related to diarrhea

Diarrhea is subjective and can be defined as an increase in the

volume, frequency or fluidity of stool relative to normal
conditions.

First introduce yourself to the patient and start:

Personal and Social History: name, age, gender, occupation – Use as your own (Single,
living with parents. No tobacco use).
Present complaint: “ What brought you here”?
1-When these complaints started? It started early in the morning.
2-How many times do you go to the toilet today? 6 times.
3-How many times did you use to go to the toilet before this problem? Once daily.
4-Can you describe your stool:
a. Is it watery, or bulky? Yes, watery. b.What color? Light yellow.
c. Is there any blood or mucous in stool? No. d.Does it have foul smell? A little
bit.
5-Do you have any additional symptoms - any nausea or vomiting? I vomited twice.
6-Do you have fever? No
7- Is there any pain on passing stools? No, but I have abdominal discomfort.
8-Can you describe what do you mean by abdominal discomfort? Is it located in
certain part of the abdomen? When it comes I urgently go to the toilet. It is all
around, I can’t specify any location.
9-Recent dietary history, consumption of meats (cooked, uncooked) eggs, seafood,
or unusual foods? I ate fast food last night in the restaurant.
10-Anyone around you have the same symptoms? No
11-Does anything make it better or worse? I did not recognize anything specific.
12-Are you on any medication? No.
Past medical history: Nothing specific.
Family history: They are healthy. No major disease.
 #1 Take a history related to diarrhea
THE SEQUENCE OF THE INTERVIEW:
1. Greeting the patient and establishing rapport
2. Inviting the patient’s story
3. Establishing the agenda for the interview
4. Expanding and clarifying the patient’s story; generating and testing diagnostic hypotheses
5. Creating a shared understanding of the problem(s)
6. Negotiating a plan (includes further evaluation, treatment, and patient education)
7. Planning for follow-up and closing the interview.
THE TECHNIQUES OF SKILLED INTERVIEWING:
1. Active listening
2. Adaptive questioning
3. Nonverbal communication
4. Facilitation
5. Echoing
6. Empathic responses
7. Validation
8. Reassurance
9. Summarization
10. Highlighting transitions
EXPLORING THE PATIENT’S PERSPECTIVE:
1. The patient’s thoughts about the nature and the cause of the problem
2. The patient’s feelings, especially fears, about the problem
3. The patient’s expectations of the clinician and health care
4. The effect of the problem on the patient’s life
5. Prior personal or family experiences that are similar
6. Therapeutic responses the patient has already tried
ADAPTIVE QUESTIONING: OPTIONS FOR CLARIFYING THE PATIENT’S STORY:
1. Directed questioning from general to specific
2. Questioning to elicit a graded response
3. Asking a series of questions, one at a time
4. Offering multiple choices for answers
5. Clarifying what the patient means
THE FORMAT OF THE COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH HISTORY:
Identifying Data: Such as age, gender, occupation, marital status.
Source and Reliability of History: Usually the patient, but can be family member, friend,
letter of referral, or the medical record varies according to the patient’s memory, trust, and
mood.
Chief Complaint: The one or more symptoms or concerns causing the patient to seek care.
 #1 Take a history related to diarrhea
THE SEVEN ATTRIBUTES OF A SYMPTOM
1. Location. Where is it? Does it radiate?
2. Quality. What is it like?
3. Quantity or severity. How bad is it? (For pain, ask for a rating on a scale of 1 to 10.)
4. Timing. When did (does) it start? How long did (does) it last? How often did (does) it come?
5. Setting in which it occurs. Include environmental factors, personal activities, emotional
reactions, or other circumstances that may have contributed to the illness.
6. Remitting or exacerbating factors. Does anything make it better or worse?
7. Associated manifestations. Have you noticed anything else that accompanies it?
Symptom description mnemonic: OPQRST-AAA
One tool that some clinicians find helpful is using the mnemonic OPQRST-AAA to elicit the
details of a pain complaint. With minimal modifications this mnemonic is easily adaptable to
other symptoms (fever, cough, dizziness etc.) The exact content of the mnemonic varies with
different sources, but one rendering is:
O-Onset
P-position/pattern (or provocation/palliation, also represented below as A-
aggravating/alleviating)
Q-Quality
R-Radiation
S-Severity (or site)
T-Timing
A-Aggravating/alleviating factors
A-Associated symptoms
A-Attributions/adaptations
History of Present Illness:
Amplifies the Chief Complaint, describes how each symptom developed includes patient’s
thoughts and feelings about the illness may include medications, allergies, habits of smoking
and alcohol, since these are frequently pertinent to the present illness
Past Medical History:
Lists childhood illnesses
Lists adult illnesses with dates for at least four categories: medical; surgical;
obstetric/gynecologic; and psychiatric includes health maintenance practices such as:
immunizations, screening tests, lifestyle issues, and home safety
Family History:
1.Outlines or diagrams of age and health, or age and cause of death of siblings, parents, and
grandparents.
2.Documents of presence or absence of specific illnesses in family, such as hypertension,
coronary artery disease.
Personal and Social History:
Describes educational level, family of origin, current household, personal interests, and lifestyle
 #2 Per Rectal (PR) Examination
STEP/TASK D PD ND

Preparation of the patient

1 Introduce yourself to the patient and confirm his ID.

2 Explain the procedure to the patient emphasizing that the examination may be
uncomfortable but should not be painful, A chaperone should be offered.
3 Get the patient consent and ask him to be exposed from the waist down.
4 Position the patient comfortably in the left lateral position. Flex hips and knees
and position the buttocks at the edge of the couch, and Put on a pair of gloves
The procedure
5 Gently separate the buttocks and inspect the anus and surrounding skin for any
abnormality like; Skin tags, ulcers, fissures, hemorrhoids..etc,
6 Lubricate the index finger of your right hand and make complete fist with
pointing index, Position the finger over the anus as if pointing to the genitalia.
7 Gently insert the finger into the anus, through the anal canal and into the
rectum, Test anal tone by asking the patient to squeeze your finger.
8 Rotate the finger so as to palpate the entire circumference of the anal canal and
rectum. Feel for any masses, ulcers,…etc.
9 In males comment on the: Size, surface, sulcus, consistency and tenderness of
the prostate gland.
10 Remove the finger and examine the glove and look for: The color of any stool
and for any mucous or blood.
After the procedure
11 Clean off any lubricant or feces on the anus or anal margin. Remove the gloves
and dispose it.
12 Give the patient time to put his clothes back on, Ensure that he is comfortable.
13 Address any questions or concerns that he may have, then Present your findings
to the examiner, and offer a differential diagnosis
What’s the best position to do rectal examination?
Left Lateral position.
Rectal Examination - Geeky medics
 #3 ABDOMINAL EXAMINATION
STEP/TASK D PD ND

Preparation

1. Introduce yourself to the patient.

2. Confirm patient’s ID.

3. Explain the procedure and reassure the patient.

4. Get patient’s consent.

5. Wash hands.

6. Prepare the necessary materials.

7. Position the patient in a lying flat position with the head resting a on a single pillow and uncover his/her
upper body. ask ur self ..
* obesity ?
Examination * jaundice ?
* abdominal destintion ?
General inspection (1)

8. Observe the patient's general appearance (age, state of health, nutritional status and any other obvious
signs e.g. wasting, jaundice, pigmentation, mental status –for encephalopathy–).

Hands (2)

9. Pick up the patient’s hand; inspect and examine (Temperature, Color, Nail , Palmar erythema,
Dupuytren's contracture,
Nail signs: clubbing, leuconychia–hypoalbuminaemia, koilonychia–iron deficiency).

10. Test for flapping tremor.

Face (3)

11. Inspect the patient’s face (sclerae, pupils, malar rush, mouth, tongue, salivary glands, palate, dentition).

Neck (4)

12. Examine the neck for lymphadenopathy.

13. Examine the upper body for gynaecomaslia , caput medusae, and spider naevi.

Chest (5)

14. Inspect the patient’s chest (gynaecomastia, caput medusae, spider naevi).

Abdomen (5) (should exposed from the nipples to the symphhsis)

15. Inspect the patient’s abdomen for (contours, any obvious distension, localized masses, scars, and skin
changes).

(a) Palpation of the Abdomen

16. Ask the patient if he has any abdominal pain and fix upon his face as you palpate his abdomen. Palpate
with the palmar surface of your fingers whilst sitting or kneeling beside the patient.

17. Light palpation - Begin by examining the segment furthest away from any pain or discomfort and
systematically palpate the four quadrants and the umbilical area. Look for tenderness, guarding, and any
masses. ‫! اﺣرص ﻋﻠﻰ ان ﯾﻛون ﻣﻛﺎن اﻻﻟم اﺧر ﻣﻛﺎن ﺗﻔﺣﺻﮫ‬

18. Deep palpation - Describe and localize any masses.

 Abdominal Examination

STEP/TASK D PD ND

Examination

(b) Palpation of the organs

19. Liver - Ask the patient to breathe in and out and, starting in the right lower quadrant, feel for the liver edge
using the flat of the hand or the tips of the fingers. If (the liver edge) felt, describe in terms of (regularity,
nodularity, and tenderness).
(To estimate the liver span, percuss down along the right midclavicular line until the liver dullness
encountered and measure from here to the palpable liver edge).

20. Gallbladder- Palpate for tenderness over gallbladder region at the tip of the right 9th rib.

21. Spleen –
1. Palpate the spleen start from right iliac fossa. Advance your right hand to the lower border of left costal margin,
and try to palpate the spleen.
2. If spleen palpable comments on consistency, edge, splenic notch, and surface. Check how many figures below
the costal margin.
3. If the spleen not palpable turn the patient on right lateral position and use two hand technique. The left hand is
placed posterolaterally over the left lower ribs and right hand is placed on the abdomen below the costal
margin and check if spleen is palpable
4. Percuss over the Traube’s space and check if there is dullness, it is a maneuver to check for early
splenomegaly. Traube’s space boundaries it is a triangle between six rib anterior, Mid-axillary line, and left
costal margin

22. Kidneys - Position the patient close to the edge of the bed and ballot each kidney using the technique of
deep bimanual palpation.

23. Aorta - Palpate the descending aorta between the thumb and the index of your right hand at a point midway
between the xiphisternum and the umbilicus.

(c) Percussion of the abdomen

24. Percuss down along the right midclavicular line to detect the upper border of liver (usually found in the fourth
intercostal space).

25. Percuss the suprapubic area for undue dullness (bladder distension). If the abdomen appears distended,
test for shifting dullness (ascites).
26. shifting dullness. To detect the sign percuss from the mildline out to left flank until the dullness is reached.
Keep your finguers at that point and ask the patient to roll towards you. Wait 30 seconds and the percussion
should be repeated.

(d) Auscultation of the abdomen

27. • Auscultate in the mid-abdomen for abdominal sounds.

(Listen for 30 seconds to conclude that they are normal, hyperactive, hypoactive or absent). • Listen over the
abdominal aorta for aortic bruits (arteriosclerosis or aneurysm).
• Listen for renal artery bruits 2.5 cm above and lateral to the umbilicus (renal artery stenosis).

After the examination

28. Ensure that the patient is comfortable.

29. Make explanations to the patient, answer his/her questions and discuss management plan.

30. If necessary, order diagnostic investigations.

31. Dispose of sharps and waste material according to infection control standards.

32. Wash hands.

33. Document the procedure.

Abdominal examination - Geeky medics

 #4 ANEMIA
Definition : Anaemia is a condition caused by low haemoglobin levels as a result of decreased production of Red Blood Cells (RBC) or increased destruction/loss of RBC.

● CASE : A 22 year old male presenting symptom of fatigue described as “easily getting tired and weak.” ‫ﺑﯾوﺻف ﻟك اﻟﻣﺷﻛﻠﺔ ﺑﻛﻠﻣﺗﯾن‬

1) Introduce yourself to your patient.

2) Take the Personal and Social History (name, Age, Gender, Occupation,Single, living with parents , Tobacco use).
3) Start asking your patient :

3) Possible questions and answers about your present complaint:

Questions Possible answers

1- How long have you had these complaints? For the last 2 months it's bothering me

2- When do you usually feel these symptoms? Unlike before, every time I do a physical activity like fast
walking or climbing the stairs, I feel weak very easily. I
start breathing frequently at those times. It’s like my
breath is not enough. And I feel that it’s getting worse.

3- Do you have any additional symptoms? Sometimes I feel that my heart beats rapidly than usual.
Also I feel like that I’ve lost my energy.

4- Does anything make it better or worse? Taking a rest makes me feel better. However, I feel
more tired with heavier physical activity.

5- Have you noticed a weight loss? No. It has been the same for at least 5 years.

6- How is your diet like? (Dietary habits) I am a vegetarian. I eat vegetables only. ‫وﺻﻠﻧﺎ ﺧﯾر‬
‫ﻣﮭم ﺗﺳﺄﻟوﻧﮫ ﻋن ﻧﻣط ﺗﻐذﯾﺗﮫ وإذا ﻛﺎن ﻧﺑﺎﺗﻲ وﻻ ﻻ‬

6- Do you have fever? No, I did not feel any fever.

7- Do you have any bleeding from your body parts No

recently?

8- Have you applied to a doctor with these symptoms? No, it’s my first time.

Past medical history: Nothing specific, No important disease history, No operation, No current medication, No allergy

9- Do you have or had any major disease or operation? No

10- Are you on any medication? No

11- Family history: Parents are healthy and alive, no major history of disease.

‫ اﻟﻣطﻠوب ﻣﻧك ﺗﻌرﱢ ف ﻋن ﻧﻔﺳك ﺑﺎﻟﺑداﯾﺔ ﺛم ﺗﺑدأ ﺑﺄﺧذ ﻣﻌﻠوﻣﺎت اﻟﻣرﯾض ) اﻻﺳم واﻟﻌﻣر ﻛﻔﺎﯾﺔ ( ﺑﻌدھﺎ ﺗﺑدأ ﺗﺳﺄﻟﮫ ﻋن ﻣﺷﻛﻠﺗﮫ‬: ‫ﺑﺑﺳﺎطﺔ‬
‫( ﻣﺗﻰ ﺑدأت اﻷﻋراض ؟ و ﻣﺗﻰ ﺗزداد ﺳوءاً ؟ ھل ﻋﻧده أي أﻋراض أﺧرى ؟‬easily getting tired and weak) ‫اﻟﺣﺎﻟﺔ واﺿﺣﺔ ﻣن اﻟﻛﻠﻣﺗﯾن اﻟﻠﻲ ﺑﯾﻘوﻟﮭم اﻟﻣرﯾض‬
‫ ﺗﺎرﯾﺦ اﻟﻌﺎﺋﻠﺔ اﻟﻣرﺿﻲ‬/ ‫ اﻟﻌﻣﻠﯾﺎت اﻟﺟراﺣﯾﺔ‬/ ‫ اﻷدوﯾﺔ‬/ ‫ اﻟوزن‬/ ‫ ﻧﻣط اﻟﺗﻐذﯾﺔ‬: ‫ﻧﻘﺎط ﻣﮭم ﺗﺳﺄﻟون ﻋﻧﮭﺎ‬
“‫ ﺗﻘدرون ﺗﺳﺄﻟون أﺳﺋﻠﺔ إﺿﺎﻓﯾﺔ ﻟو ﻓﯾﮫ وﻗت‬+ ‫ اﺧﺗﺎروا اﻟﺻﯾﺎﻏﺔ اﻷﻧﺳب ﻟﻛم‬،‫” اﻷﺳﺋﻠﺔ اﻟﻣذﻛورة ﺑﺎﻟﺟدول أﻣﺛﻠﺔ ﻓﻘط‬