OMSB Family Medicine (OEFM) key terms

The proportion of people who truly have a disease and are correctly identified as positive by a test. High sensitivity makes a test useful for ruling out disease when the result is negative.

The probability that a person with a positive test result actually has the disease. It depends on disease prevalence, so the same test performs differently in high-prevalence and low-prevalence populations.

The number of patients who must receive a treatment for one additional patient to achieve a specified outcome over a defined period; it is the reciprocal of the absolute risk reduction.

A quality-improvement cycle in which care is compared against an agreed standard, the shortfall is analysed, changes are implemented, and care is re-measured to confirm that practice has improved.

A patient's voluntary agreement to an investigation or treatment after receiving adequate information about its nature, benefits, risks, alternatives and the consequences of declining, given while they have capacity.

The ability to make a specific decision at a specific time, judged by understanding relevant information, retaining it, weighing it and communicating a choice; it is assumed present unless proven otherwise.

Heart failure with a left ventricular ejection fraction of 40 percent or less. Guideline treatment combines a renin-angiotensin system blocker, a beta-blocker, a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist and an SGLT2 inhibitor.

Classification of chronic kidney disease by glomerular filtration rate category (G1 to G5) combined with albuminuria category (A1 to A3); both components independently predict progression and cardiovascular risk.

A raised thyroid-stimulating hormone with free thyroxine still within the reference range. Treatment is considered when TSH is persistently above about 10 mIU/L, when symptoms are present, or in pregnancy.

A device worn for 24 hours that records blood pressure at intervals during daily activity and sleep. It confirms hypertension and detects white-coat and masked hypertension better than clinic readings.

A viral lower respiratory infection of infants, usually caused by respiratory syncytial virus, presenting with coryza, cough, tachypnoea, wheeze and crackles; management is supportive, with feeding and oxygenation the main concerns.

An acute self-limited vasculitis of childhood causing fever for at least five days plus conjunctivitis, mucosal changes, rash, limb changes and cervical lymphadenopathy; untreated it risks coronary artery aneurysms.

A seizure occurring between six months and five years of age, associated with fever but without evidence of intracranial infection or a previous afebrile seizure; most are simple and carry a benign prognosis.

Inadequate weight gain or growth in a child compared with expected trajectories for age and sex, plotted on growth charts; causes include inadequate intake, malabsorption and underlying disease, and assessment includes feeding and social history.

New hypertension after 20 weeks' gestation with proteinuria or maternal organ dysfunction. It can progress rapidly to eclampsia, HELLP syndrome or fetal growth restriction, so timing of delivery is the key decision.

Testing for hyperglycaemia first recognised in pregnancy, typically with a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test at 24 to 28 weeks; treatment with diet, exercise and insulin reduces macrosomia and related complications.

Blood loss of 500 mL or more after vaginal birth or 1000 mL or more after caesarean, or any loss causing haemodynamic compromise; management follows a structured sequence of uterine massage, uterotonics, tranexamic acid and escalation.

A four-category system, numbered 1 to 4, that rates whether a medical condition or drug makes a contraceptive method safe to use; category 4 means the method should not be used.

A rapidly developing, life-threatening systemic hypersensitivity reaction with airway, breathing or circulatory compromise; intramuscular adrenaline into the anterolateral thigh is the immediate treatment and should be given without delay.

Life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection, operationalised as an acute rise in the SOFA score of two or more points; recognition and early antibiotics are time-critical.

A spectrum of myocardial ischaemia from unstable angina through non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction to ST-elevation infarction; diagnosis combines symptoms, serial troponins and electrocardiography, with reperfusion urgency in ST-elevation infarction.

Compression of the lumbosacral nerve roots causing saddle anaesthesia, bladder or bowel dysfunction, sexual dysfunction and bilateral leg pain or weakness; it is a surgical emergency requiring urgent imaging and decompression.

A clinical decision rule that indicates radiography after ankle injury only if there is pain near the malleoli plus bone tenderness or inability to weight-bear; it safely reduces unnecessary X-rays.

Raised pressure within an enclosed muscle compartment that impairs perfusion, producing pain out of proportion, pain on passive stretch and later paraesthesia; urgent fasciotomy is required to prevent muscle and nerve necrosis.

A toxic state from serotonergic drugs, presenting with neuromuscular hyperactivity such as clonus and hyperreflexia, autonomic instability and altered mental state; stopping the offending agents and supportive care are the mainstays.

A nine-item self-report questionnaire scoring each depressive symptom from 0 to 3 over the previous two weeks; total scores guide severity grading and monitoring of response to treatment.

A syndrome beginning hours after reduced intake in a dependent drinker, with tremor, sweating, anxiety, nausea and possible seizures or delirium tremens; benzodiazepines and thiamine are the core treatments.

Indirect protection of unvaccinated people that arises when a sufficiently high proportion of a population is immune, reducing chains of transmission; the threshold varies with how contagious the pathogen is.

Ten principles used to judge whether a screening programme is justified, including that the condition is important, has a detectable early stage, and that the test and treatment are acceptable and effective.

An infectious or otherwise specified condition that clinicians and laboratories are legally required to report to public health authorities, enabling surveillance, outbreak investigation and timely control measures.

A mnemonic for assessing pigmented skin lesions: Asymmetry, Border irregularity, Colour variation, Diameter greater than 6 mm, and Evolving change in size, shape, colour or symptoms; any concerning feature warrants urgent referral.

A severe mucocutaneous drug reaction with epidermal detachment; involvement below 10 percent of body surface is Stevens-Johnson syndrome and above 30 percent is toxic epidermal necrolysis, managed by withdrawing the culprit drug and burn-unit care.

Sudden obstruction of aqueous outflow causing a painful red eye, blurred vision with halos, a fixed mid-dilated pupil and a hard globe; immediate pressure-lowering treatment and urgent ophthalmology review are needed to save sight.

A common cause of brief positional vertigo produced by head movement, diagnosed when the Dix-Hallpike manoeuvre reproduces the characteristic nystagmus; it is treated with canalith repositioning manoeuvres rather than medication.

A multidimensional, multidisciplinary assessment of an older person covering medical, functional, cognitive, psychological and social domains, producing an integrated care plan; it improves outcomes when targeted at those at risk.

An acute fluctuating disturbance of attention and awareness, usually triggered by illness, drugs or the environment, in a person with reduced cognitive reserve; it is managed by treating the cause and reducing precipitating factors.

A state of increased vulnerability to stressors due to decline in physiological reserve across multiple systems, often identified by slow gait, weak grip, weight loss and exhaustion, and predicting adverse outcomes after minor illness.

An ongoing discussion in which a person records their values, goals and preferences for future care, and may appoint a decision-maker or refuse specific treatments in advance, used when they lose capacity.