Sentinel conditions with clinical examples
| Sentinel conditions | Type of problem | Examples of associated diagnoses |
|---|---|---|
| Respiratory distress | Upper airway obstruction | Foreign body ingestion, upper airway infections, angioedema, tumours |
| Lower airway obstruction | Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | |
| Lung tissue disease | Lower respiratory tract infections, pulmonary oedema (due to ischaemic heart disease or hypertensive heart disease), interstitial lung disease, pulmonary aspiration | |
| Shock | Hypovolemic/haemorrhagic | Diarrhoeal diseases, maternal haemorrhage, gastrointestinal bleeding, trauma |
| Distributive | Allergic reaction, septic shock, neurogenic shock | |
| Cardiogenic | Cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, iron-deficiency anaemia | |
| Obstructive | Pulmonary embolism, pericardial tamponade, tension pneumothorax | |
| Altered mental status | Seizure | Epilepsy, encephalitis |
| Hypoglycaemia/hyperglycaemia | Malnutrition, diabetes | |
| Electrolyte disorders | Chronic kidney disease | |
| Liver failure | Cirrhosis of the liver secondary to hepatitis B, hepatitis C or alcohol use | |
| Cerebrovascular disease | Haemorrhagic stroke, ischaemic stroke | |
| Ingestion | Opioid use disorders, cocaine use disorders, poisonings, alcohol use disorders | |
| Mental disorders | Schizophrenia | |
| Dangerous fever* | Severe sepsis/septic shock | Malaria, maternal sepsis and other maternal infections, skin and soft tissue infections, Ebola virus disease, tetanus |
| Fever in the immunocompromised host | HIV/AIDS, diabetes, haematological malignancies, chemotherapeutic treatment of cancer, neonatal sepsis | |
| Hyperthermia (non-infectious) | Thyroid disorder, environmental exposure, drug-associated | |
| Severe pain | Headache | Brain cancer, poisoning, cerebrovascular disease, meningitis, cerebral malaria, maternal hypertensive disorders |
| Chest pain | Acute coronary syndrome (ischaemic heart disease), aortic dissection, pericarditis, cardiomyopathy and myocarditis, rheumatic heart disease | |
| Abdominal pain | Aortic aneurysm, perforated viscous, appendicitis, pancreatitis, inguinal and femoral hernia, gall bladder and biliary diseases, urolithiasis, intestinal infectious disorders | |
| Trauma | Head trauma | Epidural hematoma, subdural hematoma, skull fracture Flail chest, pneumothorax Solid organ injury, bowel perforation Pelvic fracture, long bone fracture Circumferential burn |
| Chest trauma | ||
| Abdominal trauma | ||
| Orthopaedic trauma | ||
| Burns |
*Fever from a life-threatening cause due to multiple aetiologies including those infectious, environmental, endocrinologic or toxin mediated.