SCA practice case · Video consultation
“My periods stopped and now there’s milk — am I pregnant?”
Video consultation
Adult patient
Straightforward
Gender, reproductive & sexual healthInvestigations & results
The candidate brief
This is what you would read in the 3-minute window before the patient connects. Read it once, note two or three hypotheses and one thing you must not miss, then stop.
Patient
Hannah Reid · 29 years · female
Setting
Video consultation — periods stopped and nipple discharge; blood results back.
Past history
- Nil significant
- Secondary amenorrhoea — 6 months
Medication
- No repeat medication recorded
Allergies
NKDA
Recent notes
⚠ Prolactin ~2200 mU/L (ref upper ~500). Urine hCG negative. TFTs, U&E and repeat prolactin not yet done.
Reason for contact
Booked to discuss results. “Am I pregnant? What is the milk?”
Practise this case
The full case is in the Hot Seat with the Gold plan. You get a 12-minute timer, a role-player script with facts released only when asked, examiner checkpoints by the three RCGP domains, a model consultation and the guidance behind it.
What this case tests
Show the learning points (spoiler: read after you have practised)
The triad of amenorrhoea, galactorrhoea and a markedly raised prolactin (pregnancy-negative) is hyperprolactinaemia — work it up structured rather than leaping to "brain tumour". Confirm with a repeat prolactin and exclude the common reversible causes: pregnancy, primary hypothyroidism, renal impairment, and especially DRUGS (dopamine-blockers — antipsychotics, metoclopramide, domperidone), which here is the easily-missed cause hiding in a private "anxiety pill" started shortly before her periods stopped — though it does not explain her visual symptoms. Screen for macroadenoma red flags (headache, visual-field loss from chiasmal compression) with formal visual fields, and arrange pituitary MRI and endocrine referral. The examinable hidden agenda is twofold: the stated brain-tumour fear, and the deeper, less-voiced FERTILITY fear ("am I broken?") as she and her partner consider trying — plus shame about undisclosed private medication. Deliver honest, mostly-reassuring information (hyperprolactinaemia is highly treatable; prolactinomas usually respond to dopamine agonists; fertility usually recovers once prolactin normalises), take a complete non-judgemental drug history, don’t stop a needed psychiatric drug abruptly, and safety-net visual symptoms as urgent.
The guidance behind it
Similar SCA cases
gpreasoning.uk is not affiliated with or endorsed by the RCGP. Our cases are original teaching material written for practice; none is an exam recall. For anything official about the SCA, check the RCGP SCA pages.