Cases for finals #5 – history

68 year old man

  • pain in the back last week
  • today, woke up to go to toilet; got out of bed and fell over.
  • legs weak
  • numb buttocks
  • incontinent of urine

“acute onset neurological symptoms, on the background of 7 days of back pain, of weakness, buttock numbness and incontinence”

This is a neurological emergency and, if you miss this, a medico-legal one too.

I’m hoping you are all screaming “Cauda Equina Syndrome” at your computer screens – unless you are in the library, in which case just whisper.

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