Subjectwise Topics to cover for PLAB 1

MUSCULOSKELETAL:

1. Back and Neck

2. Connective tissue Disorders

3. Foor and Ankle

4. Hand and Wrist

5. Hip

6. Knee

7. Rheumatological problemas
a) Rheumatoid
b) Osteoarthrosis
c) Psoriatic
d) Lupus
e) Polymyalgia rheumatica
f) Gout

8. Upper limb

9. Skeletal
a) Disorders of calcium homeostasis (osteoporosis, osteomalacia, Paget’s)
b) Infections
c) Tumours (benign, malignant, secondaries)
d) Fractures of long bones

10. Fractures

NEUROLOGICAL:

1. Blackouts and Faints
a) Loss of consciousness of any cause
b) Vasovagal syncope
c) Cough syncope
d) Effort syncope
e) Micturition syncope
f) Carotid sinus syncope
g) Epilepsy
h) Stokes Adams attacks
i) Hypoglycaemia
j) Orthostatic hypotension
k) Drop attacks

2. Cranial Nerve Problems
a) Any cause including visual field defects
b) Multiple sclerosis (MS)
c) Space occupying lesions
d) Bell’s palsy

3. Falls
a) Complications including subdural, extradural
b) Any cause including environmental
c) Dizziness
d) Vertigo (benign positional vertigo)
e) Ménières disease
f) Ototoxicity
g) Vestibular nerve problems (Acoustic neuroma, vestibular neuronitis,
herpes zoster, brain stem)

4. Headache
a) Any cause including environmental
b) Dizziness
c) Vertigo (benign positional vertigo)
d) Ménières disease
e) Ototoxicity
f) Vestibular nerve problems (Acoustic neuroma, vestibular neuronitis,
herpes zoster, brain stem)

5. Movment Disorder including tremor and gait
a) Abnormalities of the motor nervous system
b) Chorea
c) Athetosis
d) Hemiballismus
e) Tics, myoclonus, dystonia and tardive dyskinesia
f) Parkinson’s disease
g) Parkinsonism

6. Peripheral nerve problem
a) Testing peripheral nerves
b) Dermatomes
c) Including neuropathies of any cause
d) Autonomic neuropathy
e) Mononeuropathy’s
f) Polyneuropathy’s
g) Bulbar palsy
h) MND
i) Cervical spondylosis
j) Neurofibromatosis
k) Syringomyelia

7. Seizure
a) Epilepsy
b) Convulsion

8. Speech and Language

9. Weakness and Fatigue
a) Cerebral artery territories
b) Upper motor neurone vs lower motor neurone
c) Muscle weakness grading
d) Cord compression
e) Transverse myelitis
f) Carcinomatosis
g) Meningitis
h) Guillain-barre
i) Cord infarction
j) Spinal artery thrombosis
k) Trauma
l) Dissecting aortic aneurism
m) Cauda equina lesions
n) Management of paralysed patient
o) Leg weakness (spastic paraparesis, flaccid paraparesis, unilateral foot
drop, weak legs with no sensory loss, absent knee jerks and extensor
plantars)
p) Recognition of different gait disorders
q) Stroke (mimics, risk factors, site of lesion, investigation management and
treatment, rehabilitation, TIA, SAH)
r) Myopathy
s) Myaesthenia gravis

RENAL:

1. Urine Abnormalitis
a) Blood, protein, pH, volumes
b) Renal calculi
c) Renal tract obstruction
d) Retroperitoneal fibrosis
e) Glomerulonephritis
f) Nephrotic syndrome
g) Renal vein thrombosis

2. Renal Problems
a) Urinary tract imaging
b) Renal biopsy
c) Acute renal failure
d) Chronic renal failure, renal replacement therapy, renal transplantation
e) Interstitial nephritis
f) Nephrotoxins
g) Renal vascular disease
h) Renal tubular disease
i) Inherited kidney diseases
j) Renal manifestations of systemic disease

3. Urinary excretion
a) Oliguria and polyuria including renal failure;
b) urate

4. Urinary Symptons
a) Pyelonephritis
b) Acute and chronic urinary tract infection (UTI)
c) Frequency
d) Incontinence
e) Enuresis

REPRODUCTIVE:

1. Contraception
a) Oral contraceptive pill
b) Intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUCDs)
c) Implants

2. Fertility Problems
a) Both male and female;
b) including normal development in puberty

3. Normal Pregnancy and care
a) Including prenatal diagnosis
b) Role of folic acid
c) Risks to fetus including smoking, alcohol, food issues

4. Problems in Pregnancy
a) Including antepartum haemorrhage, postpartum haemorrhage and
miscarriage
b) Ectopic pregnancy
c) Pre-eclampsia, eclampsia and hyperemesis
d) Thyroid disease in pregnancy
e) Epilepsy
f) Anticoagulation
g) Prematurity
h) Low birth weight

5. Irregular vaginal bleeding
a) Including antepartum haemorrhage, postpartum haemorrhage and
miscarriage
b) Ectopic pregnancy
c) Pre-eclampsia, eclampsia and hyperemesis
d) Thyroid disease in pregnancy
e) Epilepsy
f) Anticoagulation
g) Prematurity
h) Low birth weight

6. Pelvic mass
a) Including antepartum haemorrhage, postpartum haemorrhage and
miscarriage
b) Ectopic pregnancy
c) Pre-eclampsia, eclampsia and hyperemesis
d) Thyroid disease in pregnancy
e) Epilepsy
f) AnticoagulationBreath
g) Prematurity
h) Low birth weight

7. Pelvic Pain
a) Endometriosis
b) PID
c) Dyspareunia
8. Vulval and vaginal lump/lesions

RESPIRATORY:

1. Breathlessness
a) Pulmonary fibrosis
b) Any infection, inflammation, including COPD, asthma, occupational lung
disease, sleep apnoea and cyanosis
c) Respiratory system examination, age related changes, chest x-ray
d) Pneumonia including CURB 65
e) Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), acute respiratory distress
syndrome
f) Respiratory failure
g) Pulmonary embolus
h) Pneumothorax
i) Pleural effusion
j) Extrinsic allergic alveolitis
k) Cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis
l) Industrial dust diseases
m) Obstructive sleep apnoea
n) Cor pulmonale

2. Chest Pain
a) Including any pleuritic cause
b) Mesothelioma
c) Pneumothorax

3. Cough and Haemoptiasis
a) Cough and haemoptysis
b) Bronchiectasis
c) Cystic fibrosis
d) Fungi
e) Lung cancer
f) Sarcoidosis

4. Wheeze/ Stridor
a) Asthma – acute and chronic
b) Bronchodilators and steroids

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