Assessment

S: 38yo 170 kg female pt admitted to secondary hospital with fever, weakness and loss of proprioception of lower limbs L> R. Yet to be confirmed, but pt believed to have septic arthritis.

T: Light touch sensory assessment to be conducted, pt in bed

A: Light touch assessment completed with pt in bed. pt relatively familiar with proceedure, started proximal to distal, one side completed, then the other.

R: The examination results were a little patchy but generally corresponded with the same examination done by another physiotherapist the previous day.

E: Given the examination result was quite similar to the one done the previous day - after comparing them post ax, I have some confidence it was conducted relatively well. I think my questioning was ok but needs fine tuning, as in asking the pt to localise further and gaining some consistency in my questioning.

S: We were asked to complete a sensory examination of the pt, but were unable to read the pts notes beforehand, so I had a limited knowledge of the pts condition and any findings. Knowing the neurological level affected before doing the ax would help clarify any inconsistencies during the ax as you could confirm or recheck these as you're doing the ax.