Overview Major regions of stroke Region Area supplied Function Middle cerebral artery (MCA) Lateral frontal lobes, temporal lobes, lateral anterior parietal lobes Upper body and language Anterior cerebral artery (ACA) Mesial and anterior frontal lobes, medial parietal lobes Lower body,…
A transient ischaemic attack (TIA) is defined as neurological deficits that completely resolve within 24 hours. 80% of TIAs are due to thromboemboli, which occur almost exclusively in patients with symptomatic large vessel disease, e.g., carotid artery stenosis. A transient event is…
Status epilepticus is an emergency defined as continuous seizure activity for ≥ 5 minutes or recent seizures without recovery of consciousness between episodes. It can be convulsive or non-convulsive, and requires immediate treatment to prevent brain injury and death.
Febrile seizures are seizures associated with fever (> 37.8 C), and not due to underlying pathology such as epilepsy or infection. They are common in children aged 6 months to 5 years old. It peaks at 12 – 18 months. It is benign, affecting…
Seizure medications (anti-epileptic drugs) are the mainstay of treatment for epilepsy. They are initiated by a specialist, and chosen based on the type of seizure, patient factors, side effects, cost, and drug interactions. Classification according to mechanism Mechanism Examples Sodium channel…
Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterised by idiopathic (75%), recurrent (2 or more), unprovoked seizures. Patients with epilepsy are usually physically normal and asymptomatic between events. It affects 1% of all people by age 20 and 3% by age 75%. Specific epilepsy syndromes Syndrome Age…
Prerenal failure is azotemia caused by poor perfusion of the nephrons. Causes of prerenal failure Pathology Cause Nota bene Reduced vascular volume Haemorrhage, hypovolemia, diarrhoea and vomiting, burns, pancreatitis, hypoaldosteronism (Addison’s disease), third-spacing (hypoalbuminemia) Dehydration and systemic hypotension are the most…
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is defined as kidney damage or decreased kidney function of < 60ml/min for > 3 months. It may be caused by glomerular, tubular or vascular injury, which may be detected on urinalysis, ultrasound or renal biopsy. The classification is based on…
Mycobacterium Avium Complex Infection AKA Mycobacterium avium intracellular infection (MAI). Infection is similar to TB (primarily in the lungs, but can disseminate to cause systemic infections). If a patient presents with symptoms and CD4 is in double digits, treat presumptively…
Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia (PCP) Previously Pneumocystis carinii. A yeast-like, human-specific fungus that cannot be cultured in vivo.