Triads and Pentads in Surgery

These triads and pentads somehow tend to be favourite questions of examiners during clinical exams and vivas. Other use of these is to depress your friends by asking questions related to them. Enjoy the read!

Name	Triad	Disease
What is Bergman’s triad?	1. Mental status changes 2. Petechiae (often in the axilla/thorax) 3. Dyspnea	Fat emboli syndrome
What is Beck’s triad ?	Muffled heart sound, Distended neck veins, Hypotension	Cardiac tamponade
What is Charcot’s cholangitis triad ?	Right Upper Quadrant Pain, Fever, Jaundice	Ascending cholangitis
What is Cushing’s triad of Increased Intracranial Pressure ?	Bradycardia, Bradypnea, Hypertension	Head Injuries
What is Dieulafoy’s triad ?	Hyperesthesia of the skin, exquisite tenderness and guarding over McBurney’s point	Acute appendicitis
What is Triad of Sandblom ?	Malena, Obstructive jaundice, Biliary colic	Hemobilia
What is Triad of Meigs’ Syndrome ?	Ascites, Pleural effusion, Benign ovarian tumor	Meigs’ syndrome
What is Hutchinson’s triad ?	Hutchison’s teeth, Interstitial keratitis, Nerve deafness	Congenital syphilis
What is Kartagener Syndrome Triad ?	Triad of bronchiectasis, Recurrent sinusitis, and, Situs inversus,	Kartagener syndrome

What is Leriche’s syndrome Triad ?	·         Triad of bilateral hip, thigh, and buttock claudication, ·         Impotence ·         Symmetric atrophy of the bilateral lower extremities due to chronic ischemia	Leriche’s syndrome
What is Meckler’s triad ?	Vomiting, Pain and Subcutaneous emphysema	Boerhaave syndrome
What is Saint’s Triad ?	Gall stones, Diverticulosis, Hiatus hernia
What is Samter’s triad (also known as Acetylsalicylic acid triad or Widal’s triad or Francis’ triad or Aspirin triad) ?	Aspirin sensitivity, Nasal polyps, Asthma	Aspirin-induced asthma
What is Tetany Triad ?	Stridor, Carpopedal spasm, Convulsions	Tetany
What is Triad of Hypernephroma ?	Pain, Hematuria, Renal mass	Hypernephroma
What is Triad of Plummer-Vinson syndrome ?	Iron defiency anemia, Dysphagia, Esophageal webs	Plummer-Vinson syndrome
What is Trotter’s Triad ?	Conductive deafness, Immobility of homolateral soft palate, Trigeminal neuralgia
What is O’ Donoghue Triad (Unhappy Triad) ?	ACL, MCL, Medial Meniscus injury (Twisting force on knee)	Knee Injury
What is Virchow’s triad ?	Stasis, Hypercoagulability, Vessel injury	Venous thrombosis

What is Whipple’s Triad ?

·         Hypoglycaemia during attacks ·         Resolution of symptoms upon correction of blood glucose ·         Symptoms brought about by low glucose states.

Insulinoma

Pentads

What is Reynolds Pentad ?

Abdominal pain, Fever, Jaundice, Shock and Depression of central nervous system function

Acute Suppurative Cholangitis