A new case study in which the patient, D.C., a 52-year-old, white, married college professor wakes up to severe and intensifying pain. Though the coronavirus pandemic is sweeping the nation, his pain is so severe his wife drives him to the ER.
NursesCOVIDCase Study
D. C., a 52-year-old, married, white college professor, woke up to severe and increasing pain in his right flank this morning. He came to the ER in acute distress with pallor, diaphoresis and significant anxiety (over his pain and over having to come to ER during coronavirus pandemic). He was in so much pain, he couldn't sit still on the bed in the ER but continued to move around, constantly repositioning himself, groaning in pain and grimacing. He even vomited twice from the pain. He was given promethazine hydrochloride IV for nausea by the nurse. Due to his allergy to meperidine he was also given morphine IV for pain.
Okay super sleuths, what are all the possible reasons for right flank pain? As always, imagine you only get 5 questions. With that limit in mind, what information could you ask for that would give you the most information for a diagnosis? What labs do you want? What other diagnostic tests should we run? Ask me some questions!
A few other fun questions to think about:
What is the pathophysiology behind pallor and diaphoresis?
How does promethazine relieve nausea and vomiting?
