Updates

The Peripheral nervous system examination page has been updated with a small section on Hoffmann’s reflex.

The Peripheral nervous system examination page has been updated with a small section on the traction response.

The Peripheral nervous system examination page has been updated with a small section on the assessment of drift.

The Alcohol withdrawal page has been updated with additional information about at risk groups and withdrawal management.

The Ethanol page has been updated with additional information about the AUDIT – C tool for identifying problem drinking.

The Pertussis/parapertussis page has been updated with additional diagnostic information.

The Pericarditis page hase been updated, with particular emphasis on the role of colchicine in non malignant pericarditis following a recent trial of its use published in the NEJM.

A link to a useful external diagnostic radiation calculator has been added to the Radiation and diagnostic imaging page.

The Cardiac auscultation page has been updated and links to some useful auscultation websites have been added.

The list of causes of clubbing has been updated in the Respiratory examination page.

A small segment about the features of acute AR has been added to the Aortic valve disease page as well as a number of other additions.

The segment on mitral regurgitation in the Other valve lesions page has been revised and updated.

The segment on VSD in the Acyanotic lesions with left to right shunt page has been updated and re-organised.

The organism responsible for PCP pneumonia, Pneumocystis carinii, has been replaced with it’s new name Pneumocystis jiroveci on the HIV infection page (and related pages). PCP pneumonia may also be called PJC pneumonia as a result.

The Stroke management page has been updated with information regarding the role of early surgery in primary ICH following the publication of the STICH – II trial.

The Normal ECG, Ion effects on the ECG and Torsades de pointes pages have been updated highlighting the risk from QTc prolongation caused by ST segment prolongation is much less than that due to T wave prolongation.

Some additional material relating to ECG changes and prognosis in syncope has been added to the Syncope page.

The Sudden cardiac death page has been updated with more specific information about the types of ECG changes that can occur in Brugada syndrome, as well as the insertion of links to other relevant sections of the manual.

The segment on drugs in lactation in the Drugs in pregnancy and lactation page has been extensively revised and updated. In particular, the use of analgesics and psychotropic medications has been revised.

A small segment on subcutaneous ICDs has been added to the Electrical cardioversion page.