Day: March 21, 2024

Overview Delirium refers to an acute confusional state that causes disturbed consciousness, attention, cognition & perception. Delirium is essentially a state of acute confusion that affects normal brain functioning. The terminology can be confusing as delirium is often used synonymously with ‘acute confusion’, ‘acute confusional state’ and ‘encephalopathy’. It should be considered a clinical syndrome typified by abnormal consciousness, attention, perception and cognition. Delirium is characterised by: Acute onset (hour to days) Fluctuating symptoms (alters throughout the day) Disturbance in awareness and attention (reduced awareness, distractible) Disturbance in cognition (e.g. memory, language, disorientation) Evidence of an organic cause (e.g. medical condition, medication, intoxication) These features outline

Overview Cluster headache is a severe primary headache disorder characterised by recurrent unilateral headaches centred on the eye or temporal region. They occur in short attacks (15-180 minutes) and are associated with ipsilateral autonomic signs (e.g. conjunctival injection, nasal congestion). It may be episodic (80-90%) with periods of remission or chronic (no periods of remission > 3 months). The severity of the pain should not be underestimated. It is often described as one of the most painful conditions and it can be enormously disruptive to normal life. Cluster headache is the most common trigeminal autonomic cephalalgia – a group of primary headache disorders characterised

Overview Bell’s palsy refers to a unilateral facial nerve palsy of unknown cause. Bell’s palsy, an idiopathic facial nerve palsy, was described by Sir Charles Bell in the 19th century. It is thought to be related to inflammation and oedema of the facial nerve secondary to a viral infection or autoimmunity, but the underlying aetiology remains unclear. The facial nerve is important for control of the muscles of facial expression. Paralysis of the nerve causes unilateral facial weakness. Bell’s palsy is relatively uncommon, affecting 20-30 per 100,000 patients per year with an equal sex prevalence. Click here for our Ramsay Hunt syndrome notes (a differential

Introduction Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most common form of motor neuron disease (MND), a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterised by worsening paralysis, disability and eventually death. It tends to develop in the mid-to-late 50’s and is seen more commonly in men. Presentations can vary significantly but the onset is commonly with asymmetrical weakness of a limb. The disease is progressive, eventually affecting more muscles groups, including those involved in respiration. Death most commonly results from respiratory failure, with a median survival of 3-5 years after symptom onset. Though the condition was described independently by a number of clinicians, Jean-Martin Charcot (a