More articles from The Clinical Picture
- Encephalopathy despite thiamine repletion during alcohol withdrawal
When managing a patient with chronic alcohol abuse who is beginning to withdraw, expect the unexpected.
- An 18-year-old woman with hepatic cysts
Echinococcus granulosus is a parasitic tapeworm; humans become infected when they ingest the eggs.
- Syncope during a pharmacologic nuclear stress test
A dangerous interaction can arise if the culprit drug is overlooked because it is part of a combination product.
- An intravenous drug user with persistent dyspnea and lung infiltrates
He was treated empirically with antibiotics, which did not help. Now he is back in the emergency department.
- Wide QRS complex rhythm with pulseless electrical activity
Although this presentation is grave, several of its possible causes can be treated, allowing the patient to recover.
- Slow-growing angiomatous lesions on the limbs
Erythematous plaques after age 70 should raise the suspicion of classic Kaposi sarcoma.
- Deep T waves and chest pain
After 3 hours of chest pain, a 67-year-old man presented with deep symmetric T-wave inversions in the precordial leads, a prognostically significant finding.
- Dyspnea after treatment of recurrent urinary tract infection
Glucose-6 phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency is an X-linked disorder that can present as hemolytic anemia after infection or exposure to certain medications.
- A 66-year-old woman with an enlarged tongue
Eventually, she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and cardiac amyloidosis.
- More than skin-deep
The patient had oral ulcers, a truncal rash, and blistering lesions on his hands, all of which had been getting worse for 9 months.