Diagnoses you never thought you'd see?

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What's the most unusual patient you've ever had? I've had a couple--one was a woman whose admit orders included that she was NOT to have any food from home. They suspected that her husband was POISONING her.

The other was a woman who was a former LPN with a textbook case of Munchausen's syndrome. There was really nothing wrong with her but she kept insisting (moaning, actually) that she was SO sick. Very weird.

Specializes in ICU, Research, Corrections.

Deadly case of Stevens-Johnson syndrome with layer upon layer of huge blisters

on entire body. Causative agent-IV Lasix.

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OMG!! I did a paper on this in college.

I inserted a Foley on an Iraqi woman with a female circumcision.
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This has to be the most disturbing thread I've read since "What is your most gross, (...) story?" Especially after looking up some of the diagnoses for a visual.

Yet I keep checking for more responses. :lol2:

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

As a TA I helped take care of a baby (1 month old) born with brain stem only. The Nurses told me it was caused by an STD the father had, mom knew nothing about it & we were told not to tell her. Very sad :crying2:

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As a TA I helped take care of a baby (1 month old) born with brain stem only. The Nurses told me it was caused by an STD the father had, mom knew nothing about it & we were told not to tell her. Very sad :crying2:

What STD would cause something like this? Was this baby truly anencephalic, or did it have hydranencephaly? There's a child in my town with this disorder, but AFAIK, the parents were told that this was something that just happened. Really cute kid, about 10 years old now and essentially comatose all her life. Our newspaper has done stories about the family.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ENT/Plastics, College Health.

I had a elderly woman who had recently in Italy and was bit by a insect indigionous to the region that bit her forhead and layed eggs in it. She was with us for 2 months and we had her on experimental antiparastic infusions. I itched everytime I walked into the room.

Tramatic self member amputation and subsequent reconstruction from a forearm muscle flap is another one of interest.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

Nursed a lady who had become increasingly confused, etc. Dr's thought it was dementia. Turned out she had end-stage syphilis - her hubby had been away at the war, contracted it & gave it to her & she didn't know. She had had it for about 40 years or more. Wasn't much they could do - she was for palliative care.

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
Nursed a lady who had become increasingly confused, etc. Dr's thought it was dementia. Turned out she had end-stage syphilis - her hubby had been away at the war, contracted it & gave it to her & she didn't know. She had had it for about 40 years or more. Wasn't much they could do - she was for palliative care.

I've seen the same darned thing. It's crazy. The pseudo-dementia associated with tertiary syphilis is one of the strangest things one can witness. And I'll bet the vast majority of folks suffering from this are like your patient and mine, women who had no clue what their husbands had given to them.

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I've seen the same darned thing. It's crazy. The pseudo-dementia associated with tertiary syphilis is one of the strangest things one can witness. And I'll bet the vast majority of folks suffering from this are like your patient and mine, women who had no clue what their husbands had given to them.

Did the men develop dementia too? There was once a time when this was the most common reason for admission to mental institutions.

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
Did the men develop dementia too? There was once a time when this was the most common reason for admission to mental institutions.

In my patient's case, her husband had been deceased for quite some time.

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Specializes in Tele, OB, public health.
STDs in a 2 year old:o:o:o

I'm assuming this child was sexually abused...that's usually what this means.

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Specializes in Tele, OB, public health.

A middle aged woman with no co-morbidities, who was a psych nurse at this particular hospital admitted for renal failure- cause?

Severe infection caused by :

1. Sucide attempt in which she stabbed herself repeatedly in the abdomen and then.....

2. Stuck a spoon in her rectum to obtain fecal matter, which she then stuck in the wounds

:eek:

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