OSCE and key learning points (prefinal examination)
Following the case discussion of a 60 year old female who presented with active uncontrolled abnormal movements of the limbs, some questions which were discussed as part of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination are: 1. What triggers Status epilepticus in a patient with pre-existing epilepsy? There are many etiologies for status epilepticus including both obvious causes like non-compliance with the prescribed anti-epileptic medication (To be noted: the medication prescribed in the past for this patient was chronically underdosed) and other causes like: Cerebrovascular accidents Central nervous system infections Drug withdrawal syndromes (alcohol, benzodiazepines) Metabolic derangements (hypoglycemia) Hypoxia Head trauma Hypertensive emergencies Autoimmune disorders In this patient it was noted that at the time of admission, patient had hyperglycemia (GRBS: 222mg/dL) which later normalized without the need for medical intervention. The next question then becomes: Can hyper