MRCP UK EXAMINATIONS

Detailed explanation-1: -One of the physically demonstrable symptoms of meningitis is Brudzinski’s sign. Severe neck stiffness causes a patient’s hips and knees to flex when the neck is flexed.

Detailed explanation-2: -To elicit the Kernig’s sign, patient is kept in supine position, hip and knee are flexed to a right angle, and then knee is slowly extended by the examiner. The appearance of resistance or pain during extension of the patient’s knees beyond 135 degrees constitutes a positive Kernig’s sign [Figure 1a].

Detailed explanation-3: -Kernig’s sign: Position the patients supine with their hips flexed to 90°. This test is positive if there is pain on passive extension of the knee. Brudzinski’s sign: Position the patients supine and passively flex their neck. This test is positive if this manoeuvre causes reflex flexion of the hip and knee.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Brudziński cheek sign or Brudziński’s cheek phenomenon is a clinical sign in which pressure on the cheek elicits a reflex action, usually a twitching of the area near the eye or upper lip, and flexion of the forearm when pressure is applied to upper arm with a sphygmomanometer.