More articles from Symptoms to Diagnosis
- A 50-year-old man presents with shortness of breath
Red flags included low voltage, normal sinus rhythm, and Q waves on electrocardiography, a history of carpal tunnel syndrome, and evidence of renal dysfunction.
- Central vision loss in a 44-year-old woman
The patient had a wide range of symptoms and comorbidities, resulting in a complicated differential diagnosis. Careful evaluation eventually led to a focus on sexually transmitted infection.
- A 60-year-old man with prostate cancer and embolic strokes
Step-by-step evaluation of a patient with stage IV prostate cancer and embolic stroke, but no history of heart valve disease, arrhythmia, or coagulopathy.
- Hypophosphatemia in a patient with an eating disorder
A 32-year-old woman referred from an eating disorder treatment center reported memory difficulty, trouble concentrating, and feeling “hazy.” She was taking oral potassium phosphate 3 times daily.
- Confusion in a 22-year-old woman, and diagnostic uncertainty
The patient had been complaining of gradual-onset and progressive headache and neck and back pain for 3 weeks.
- A 65-year-old man with melena and a blood disorder
The patient had chronic anemia related to primary myelofibrosis and was being treated with epoetin alfa and ruxolitinib, with blood transfusions every other week.
- Altered mental status in a man with metabolic syndrome
A 25-year-old man with bipolar I disorder, hypertension, posttraumatic stress disorder, and obesity was found unresponsive with shallow breathing and foaming at the mouth.
- Unilateral atrophic kidney in a 45-year-old woman
The patient presented with 2 days of constant, sharp, nonradiating flank pain on the right side, worse with movement and coughing, and severe enough to limit ambulation.
- Acute anxiety and tachycardia in a hospitalized 59-year-old woman
The patient presented with neck pain, painful swallowing, headache, and fever. She had contracted lymphoproliferative disease after liver transplant. She had stage 3 chronic kidney disease.
- An unexpected turn: A 71-year-old man with myocardial infarction
The patient’s temperature was elevated, pulse rate 98 beats per minute, respiratory rate 16 breaths per minute, and blood pressure 100/60 mm Hg. Cardiac and pulmonary examinations were normal.