MBBS OSCE · General Medicine
OSCE — Influenza (Seasonal & Pandemic)
Eight-minute OSCE station on Influenza (Seasonal & Pandemic): focused history, examination priorities, investigations, emergency and definitive management.
On this page
Study tools
Exam tags
Brief (to candidate)
You will assess a patient with a presentation consistent with Influenza (Seasonal & Pandemic).
You have 8 minutes to take a focused history, outline examination, investigations, and management including red flags.
Clinical context
Influenza is an acute, highly contagious respiratory infection caused by orthomyxoviruses of types A, B and (rarely) C. Type A is subtyped by two surface glycoproteins — haemagglutinin (H, 18 subtypes) and neuraminidase (N, 11 subtypes); current human strains are A/H1N1pdm09 and A/H3N2; type B is divided into Victoria and Yamagata lineages. Antigenic drift (point mutations in H and N) drives annual seasonal epidemics; antigenic shift (reassortment of genome segments when two viruses co-infect a host, e.g. swine as a 'mixing vessel') produces a novel subtype → pandemic (1918 H1N1 'Spanish flu', 1957 H2N2 'Asian flu', 1968 H3N2 'Hong Kong flu', 2009 H1N1pdm09 'swine flu'). Transmission is by r
Candidate tasks
- Clarify onset, severity, associated features, and red-flag symptoms.
- State focused examination priorities.
- List first-line investigations and any named score/criteria.
- Give immediate resuscitation steps.
- Outline definitive management with doses/routes where standard.
- Name complications and disposition (ward / HDU / theatre / discharge safety-net).
- Mention one special-population modifier (pregnancy, child, elderly, CKD).
Examiner checklist
| Domain | Pass behaviours |
|---|---|
| Definition | Correct working diagnosis language |
| Assessment | Focused, prioritised, red flags sought |
| Investigations | Appropriate first-line + interpretation |
| Emergency care | ABC / time-critical actions first |
| Definitive care | Specific drugs/procedures, not generic phrases |
| Safety | Sudden high fever with severe myalgia, headache and dry cough during influenza s |
| Safety | Dyspnoea, hypoxia, haemoptysis or consolidation on CXR - viral pneumonitis or se |
| Safety | Suspected influenza in a pregnant woman, child under 5, immunocompromised, elder |
| Communication | Clear plan and safety-netting |
Model outline
Lead with the working diagnosis and life threats. Resuscitate before definitive tests when unstable. Use guideline-standard therapy with named agents and doses. Document escalation criteria and follow-up. A safe candidate is specific, structured, and never delays critical care for non-urgent imaging.