How to Take a Collapse History | OSCE Talk

In this episode of OSCE Talk, Matthew and Peter break down how to take a structured collapse history, one of the most important and high-stakes presentations in emergency and general medical practice.

They guide you through the essential Before–During–After framework, helping you differentiate between causes such as seizures, vasovagal episodes, cardiac arrhythmias, and functional collapses.

You’ll learn how to ask the right questions, what contextual clues matter most, and how to safely assess a patient after a collapse — including when driving restrictions and safeguarding concerns are relevant.

This episode is packed with practical, OSCE-ready teaching and real-life clinical reasoning.

• Use the Before–During–After structure to organise your collapse history.

• Open questions help clarify unclear or unwitnessed events.

• Past medical history and medications (e.g., antihypertensives, anticonvulsants) may reveal the cause.

• Social history — alcohol, drugs, stress, sleep — is essential.

• Consider seizure if there is tongue biting, incontinence, or post-ictal confusion.

• Consider cardiac causes (arrhythmia, structural disease) if sudden and unprovoked.

• Vasovagal collapses often have triggers like pain, emotions, or prolonged standing.

• Always ask if they hit their head or suffered injury.

• Patient safety is crucial — including driving advice after episodes of unexplained loss of consciousness.

• Collapse histories are extremely common across emergency, GP, and inpatient care.

Disclaimer

OSCE Talk is an educational resource designed primarily to help healthcare students prepare for clinical examinations. Episodes on the key, exam-relevant and salient points of each topic and are not intended to provide a complete or exhaustive review of clinical management.

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Content is for educational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for formal teaching, clinical supervision, local policies or current national guidance. While we aim to keep our content accurate and useful, medical guidance changes over time and episodes may contain omissions or necessary simplifications.

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Always refer to appropiate guidance when making clinical decisions or caring for patients.