Key presentations and conditions
Basic Trainees will have a comprehensive depth of knowledge of these presentations and conditions.
Presentations
- Allergic presentations, such as uticaria
Conditions
- Allergic disorders:
- allergic rhinitis
- anaphylaxis
- atopic dermatitis (eczema)
- conjunctivitis
- drug reactions, adverse
- eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE)
- food allergy
- sinusitis
- Angioedema
- Cryoglobulinaemia
- Drug allergies and mechanisms, such as:
- allergies:
- drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS)
- Stevens-Johnson syndrome
- toxic epidermal necrolysis, mild to severe
- mechanisms:
- Immunoglobulin G (IgG)
- T-cell mediated
- allergies:
- Immunodeficiency syndromes:
- acquired:
- HIV
- immunosuppressive drugs
- post-transplantation
- agammaglobulinaemia and hypogammaglobulinaemia
- combined B- and T-cell immunodeficiencies
- primary defects of cellular immunity
- acquired:
For each presentation and condition, Basic Trainees will know how to:
Synthesise
- recognise the clinical presentation
- identify relevant epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical science
- take a relevant clinical history
- conduct an appropriate examination
- establish a differential diagnosis
- plan and arrange appropriate investigations
- consider the impact of illness and disease on patients1 and their quality of life
Manage
- provide evidence-based management
For less common or more complex presentations and conditions the trainee must also seek expert opinions - prescribe therapies tailored to patients’ needs and conditions
- recognise potential complications of disease and its management, and initiate preventative strategies
- involve multidisciplinary teams
Consider other factors
- identify individual and social factors and the impact of these on diagnosis and management
Less common or more complex presentations and conditions
Basic Trainees will understand these presentations and conditions. Basic Trainees will understand the resources that should be used to help manage patients with these presentations and conditions.
Conditions
- Complement deficiencies
- Neutrophil abnormalities:
- granulomatous disease, chronic
- leucocyte adhesion deficiency
- neutropenia
For each presentation and condition, Basic Trainees will know how to:
Synthesise
- recognise the clinical presentation
- identify relevant epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical science
- take a relevant clinical history
- conduct an appropriate examination
- establish a differential diagnosis
- plan and arrange appropriate investigations
- consider the impact of illness and disease on patients1 and their quality of life
Manage
- provide evidence-based management
For less common or more complex presentations and conditions the trainee must also seek expert opinions - prescribe therapies tailored to patients’ needs and conditions
- recognise potential complications of disease and its management, and initiate preventative strategies
- involve multidisciplinary teams
Consider other factors
- identify individual and social factors and the impact of these on diagnosis and management
Epidemiology, pathophysiology and clinical sciences
Basic Trainees will describe the principles of the foundational sciences.
- Action of immunosuppressive agents
- Autoimmunity
- Common allergic responses
- Healing and repair processes
- Immune responses, adaptive and innate
- Immunisation
- Inflammation, signs of and reasons for:
- acute
- chronic
- Pharmacology of major drug classes used to treat immunologic and allergic conditions
- Reticuloendothelial system structure and function:
- lymph nodes
- other lymphoid tissue
- spleen
- Transplant biology principles, including human leucocyte antigen (HLA)
Investigations, procedures and clinical assessment tools
Basic Trainees will know the indications for, and how to interpret the results of these investigations, procedures, and clinical assessments tools. Basic Trainees will know how to explain the investigation, procedure, or clinical assessment tool to patients, families, and carers.
Investigations
- Laboratory investigations:
- antibodies associated with inflammatory myositis
- antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA)
- antinuclear antibodies (ANA)
- autoantibody markers of autoimmune neurological disease, including those directed against:
- acetylcholine receptors (AChR)
- aquaporin-4
- gangliosides
- glutamate receptors
- myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG)
- N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)
- voltage-gated potassium channels (VGKC)
- autoimmune blistering skin or mucous membrane disease investigations, such as BP180 / 320 and Desmoglein 1 and 3
- autoimmune liver disease investigations, such as:
- antimitochondrial antibody (AMA)
- f-Actin
- liver kidney microsome type 1 antibodies (anti-LKM-1)
- smooth muscle (SM)
- sp100 antibodies
- complement profiles
- cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibodies
- double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) antibodies
- extractable nuclear antigen (ENA) antibodies
- full blood count (FBC)
- HIV serology and viral load assays
- immunoglobulins
- inflammatory markers
- myasthenia gravis and related syndrome investigations, such as:
- AChR antibody test
- anti-MuSK test
- Sox1
- voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC) antibodies
- protein electrophoresis
- rheumatoid factor (RF)
- specific IgE testing, including use of recombinant allergens
- Skin prick testing
- Specialised imaging, including arteriography
- Tissue biopsies, including immunofluorescence examination
Important specific issues
Basic Trainees will identify important specialty-specific issues and the impact of these on diagnosis and management.
- Principles of immunisation in the immunocompromised host
- References to patients in the remainder of this document may include their families or carers.