Unable to pass water with lower abdominal pain - Emergency Department

CurtinYear 415 min + 2 min readingRenal & urologyStandardClinical years
  • Focused history
  • Focused examination (abdomen, external genitalia and rectum)
  • Request and interpret investigations: Blood tests
  • Dx + differentials
  • Initial Mx

Ready

2 min reading, 15 min station, warning at 2 min

Focus the timer and press Space to start or pause.

Station - Instructions for candidate

You are a final-year medical student on placement in the Emergency Department of Fiona Stanley Hospital.

Aldo Petrelli, a 71-year-old retired hairdresser, has come to the Emergency Department because he has not been able to pass urine since early this morning. He has had six months of waterwork troubles. He is uncomfortable but not distressed, and the triage nurse has recorded his observations.

Temperature36.8 degrees C
Heart rate88 beats/minute
Blood pressure142/86 mmHg
Respiratory rate16 breaths/minute
Oxygen saturation98% on room air
Pain score6/10 in the lower abdomen

Your tasks are to:

  1. Take a focused history of the presenting complaint.
  2. Perform a focused examination of the abdomen, external genitalia and rectum on the model provided. Describe to the examiner what you are looking for, and the relevant findings will be provided to you.
  3. Request any relevant investigations and interpret the results provided to you.
  4. State your most likely diagnosis with differentials to the examiner.
  5. Outline your initial management plan.
  • Findings will be provided by the examiner on request.
  • You do NOT need to summarise your findings to the examiner.
  • You do not need to consent the patient for a procedure today, but explain what you propose to do next.

This is a 15-minute station, with 2 minutes of reading time.

Ask the examiner

Solo practice: say out loud what you would ask for, then choose the category. Names appear only after you commit, and a result is revealed only when you ask for it.

Generated by AI for practice; check doses and pathways against eTG / AMH before relying on them.