DHA GP Exam key terms

Long-term condition in which body cells respond poorly to insulin and the pancreas cannot produce enough, so blood glucose stays high. Managed with diet, exercise, tablets, and sometimes insulin injections.

Emergency caused by severe insulin shortage, in which the body burns fat and produces acidic ketones. Blood glucose is high, the patient is dehydrated and unwell, and treatment is fluids, insulin, and careful potassium replacement.

Condition in which the left ventricle pumps weakly, measured as an ejection fraction of 40 percent or less, causing breathlessness, fatigue, and fluid retention. Treated with diuretics and drugs that improve survival.

Kidney disorder with heavy protein loss in the urine, low blood albumin, swelling, and high cholesterol. Causes include minimal change disease in children and membranous nephropathy in adults; managed with salt restriction, diuretics, and specific therapy.

Acid build-up in the blood with a widened gap between measured positive and negative ions. Common causes are lactic acidosis, ketoacidosis, kidney failure, and poisoning with methanol or salicylates.

Acute lung infection caught outside hospital, with fever, cough, sputum, and a new shadow on chest imaging. Severity scores help decide whether the patient can be treated at home or needs admission.

Common heart rhythm disorder with an irregularly irregular pulse and no clear P waves on the ECG. It raises stroke risk, so treatment focuses on rate or rhythm control and blood thinners when appropriate.

Test offered to people without symptoms to find disease early, when treatment works better. Its value depends on accuracy, harms, costs, and evidence that early detection actually improves outcomes.

Number of patients who must receive a treatment for one extra person to benefit. It is one divided by the absolute risk reduction; smaller numbers mean a more powerful treatment.

Counselling style in which the clinician listens, reflects, and helps the patient voice their own reasons for change. Used for smoking, alcohol, diet, and other behaviour problems instead of lecturing.

Instructions telling patients to pause certain medicines, such as ACE inhibitors, diuretics, or metformin, during vomiting, diarrhoea, or fever, to protect the kidneys from injury.

Use of several medicines at the same time, often five or more. It increases the chance of side effects and drug interactions, so regular review and deprescribing are important.

Ongoing relationship between a patient and the same clinician or practice over time. It builds trust and knowledge of the person, which helps manage long-term conditions and coordinate referrals.

Conversation in which clinician and patient compare treatment options, benefits, and harms together, then agree on a plan that fits the patient's values and circumstances.

Yellowing of the skin and eyes in a newborn caused by raised bilirubin. It is often harmless in the first days but needs bilirubin measurement and phototherapy when levels are high or rising fast.

Quick score from zero to ten given at one and five minutes after birth. It rates heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflex response, and colour to show whether the baby needs help.

Viral chest infection, usually respiratory syncytial virus, affecting infants under two years. It causes wheeze, crackles, and breathing difficulty, and treatment is supportive with oxygen and fluids.

Poor weight gain or growth in a child compared with expected patterns. Causes include feeding problems, reflux, chronic disease, and social difficulties; assessment needs growth charts and a careful history.

Inflammation of medium-sized blood vessels in young children, with fever over five days, red eyes, rash, cracked lips, and swollen hands or feet. It can damage coronary arteries, so immunoglobulin and aspirin are given early.

Fit caused by fever in a child aged six months to five years who has no brain infection. Most are brief and harmless, but first episodes need assessment to exclude meningitis.

Orange glow seen when a light shines into a baby's eye during examination. A white or absent reflex suggests cataract, retinoblastoma, or another serious problem and needs urgent specialist review.

Pregnancy disorder after twenty weeks with high blood pressure plus protein in the urine or other organ damage. It can worsen quickly and lead to seizures, so close monitoring and timed delivery are needed.

Heavy bleeding after birth, defined as more than 500 mL after a vaginal delivery or 1000 mL after caesarean. Main causes are a relaxed uterus, tears, retained placenta, and clotting problems.

Vaginal bleeding from twenty-four weeks of pregnancy until the baby is born. Causes include placenta praevia, placental abruption, and vasa praevia, and assessment must be urgent.

High blood glucose first found during pregnancy. It can cause a large baby, birth injury, and newborn low sugar, and is managed with diet, exercise, metformin, or insulin.

Pregnancy that implants outside the womb, usually in a fallopian tube. It causes pain and bleeding and can rupture, leading to dangerous internal bleeding, so early diagnosis matters.

Birth emergency in which the baby's front shoulder gets stuck behind the mother's pubic bone after the head delivers. It is managed with specific manoeuvres and a call for extra help.

Test that checks the cervix of women without symptoms for human papillomavirus or pre-cancerous cell changes, so abnormalities can be treated before cancer develops.

Inflammation of the appendix causing pain that moves to the right lower abdomen, loss of appetite, and tenderness. If it bursts it causes peritonitis, so removal of the appendix is the usual treatment.

Life-threatening state in which blood flow cannot meet the body's need for oxygen. Signs include low blood pressure, cold clammy skin, fast pulse, and confusion; causes include bleeding, heart failure, blockage, and severe infection.

First structured check of a seriously injured patient: airway with neck protection, breathing, circulation, disability, and exposure. Life-threatening problems are treated as soon as they are found.

Air trapped under pressure around the lung, pushing the heart and great vessels aside. It causes severe breathlessness, falling blood pressure, and distended neck veins, and needs immediate needle decompression.

Blockage that stops the intestine moving its contents along. It causes cramping pain, vomiting, a swollen abdomen, and inability to pass stool or wind, and may need surgery.

Dangerous body-wide reaction to infection that damages organs. It is recognised by signs such as fever, fast breathing, low blood pressure, and confusion, and is treated with early antibiotics and fluids.

Break in a bone caused by injury or weakened bone. Assessment covers deformity, swelling, skin integrity, and nerve or blood vessel function, and X-ray confirms the diagnosis before immobilisation or surgery.