ENT
AKT High-Yield Breakdown
ENT in the AKT is a triage-heavy topic: common infections are usually self-limiting, but sudden hearing loss, mastoiditis, orbital sinusitis complications, airway compromise, quinsy, and head and neck cancer red flags need decisive action. The exam rewards candidates who can separate antibiotic stewardship from urgent referral.
What You'll Learn
Master acute otitis media, otitis externa, earwax and hearing loss thresholds, vertigo patterns, tinnitus red flags, sinusitis, sore throat scoring, epistaxis, and head and neck cancer referral criteria.
Practise ENT MCQs
Move straight from high-yield ENT notes into focused multiple-choice questions on otitis, vertigo, sinusitis, hearing loss, and cancer red flags.
ENT Triage - The AKT Safety Net
Most ENT presentations in primary care are benign, but the AKT often hides the answer in one red flag. First decide whether the problem is airway, neurological, orbital, intracranial, cancer, or sudden sensorineural hearing loss.
Same-Day or Emergency Features
- Airway compromise, stridor, drooling, muffled voice, or inability to swallow saliva
- Severe systemic infection or suspected sepsis
- Mastoiditis: post-auricular swelling, protruding pinna, fever, severe otalgia
- Facial nerve weakness with ear disease
- Sudden hearing loss not explained by wax, otitis externa, or middle ear disease
- Sinusitis with periorbital oedema, ophthalmoplegia, diplopia, proptosis, reduced vision, severe frontal headache, meningism, or focal neurology
- Quinsy or deep neck space infection: trismus, unilateral tonsillar swelling, uvula deviation, neck swelling, toxic appearance
AKT rule: if ENT symptoms are paired with neurological signs, orbital signs, airway compromise, or sudden unexplained hearing loss, the answer is urgent referral rather than primary-care treatment.
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