Diagnoses you never thought you'd see?

[KarafromPhilly]

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.

[not now, RN]

Infected penile implant on a 87 year-old who had it placed when he was 77. There was an open area at the base of his member where you could see a tube and another large open area on his scrotum with a tube and a spring randomly hanging out. I kept thinking "I did not go to school expecting this..."

[NurseCherlove]

Well, here's one for ya... My Dad just recently in the last few months was dx w/ Meige's Syndrome. I'd never heard of it before. It looks a lot like Tardive Dyskinesia - w/ fairly persistent tongue thrusting. He went for botox injections which have helped the tongue thrusting somewhat, but now his neck is weak, causing him to be practically unable to hold his head up at times. He also c/o his jaws often hurting him and his back b/c his head is usually slumping forward.

This makes me very sad. I'm not that close to my Dad, but he is my Dad. He feels embarrassed by his new condition and now he will hardly go out anywhere.

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

Dissecting aortic aneurysm. I so strongly suspected it that I mentioned it to the doc when I called him. Found out later that I was right.

[bettyboop]

2 cases of nectrotizing faschitis both female both survived unfortunatly 1 with half her face neck and chest eaten away so horribly disfigured but such a strong person still keep in touch.

[sfsn]

SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, or "Bubble Boy Syndrome")

31yo w/ MI

[nursemaggy]

not sure how to spell it but croutchfeild jachobs disease is mad cow

sounds like cruchfeild yachob

[elizabells, BSN, RN]

not sure how to spell it but croutchfeild jachobs disease is mad cow

sounds like cruchfeild yachob

Creutzfeldt-Jakob.

Don't say the X-Files never taught you anything!

[nursemaggy]

I have dextrocardia with Situs Inversus totalis myself my mom died of SLE Probably why I became a nurse myself despite my inability to spell.

I have in my life known a child with neuroblastoma,took care of a man with neuro syphllis, saw an AKA in surgical rotation and was amazed how much the thigh muscle looks like a roast and the fact with no power tools it only takes 13 minutes from first incision to last staple to take a leg. I had two Hunningtons patients, a dear man with Machado-Joseph disease his mom died from it his brother killed himself before the onset of the worst symptoms and he was about three credit hours from his phd when it took him down very sad, syringomyelia, oh and when I worked for a prision I saw an ink pen induced Cardiac tamponade with hemo pneumo thorax dude died twice on his way to surgery, and last but not least I saw a man who was killed with water and a stupid nurse. He was a diabetic bilateral aka on dialysis had a peg tube CHF etc. but the nurse gave him three 1000 cc flushes in an eight hour shift instead of the ordered three 100 cc flushes cause I suppose she just couldn't read or remember anything from school about renal patients but when I got to work he had no obtainable pulse ox no peripheral pulse he had lavidity and he alive his respirations were 14 cause he was tired because the nurse that was after nurse hatchet didnt send him out because he had the wrong type of insurance his bp was 68/34 or best I could tell anyway his apical pulse was 43 ish and axilary temp was 93.4 needless to say I got him to a hospital but it was too late.

I guess the thing I never thought I would see is sheer ignorance by people who are supposed to be properly trianed. sigh not to say I am perfect but I hope I never forget a fluid restriction on a renal patient is important, if I do it is time to quit nursing.

[twinkerrs]

Necrotizing Fascitis of the scrotom.

[rph3664]

I have dextrocardia with Situs Inversus totalis myself my mom died of SLE Probably why I became a nurse myself despite my inability to spell.

Are you an identical twin? If you aren't, then you are probably the survivor of identical twins (if you didn't know, it's believed that as many as 10 percent of human pregnancies may start out this way) and had the embryo split a matter of hours later, you might have been a conjoined twin.

I once temped at a small hospital where the pharmacy was at the end of the med-surg floor's hallway, and they had a patient who had been huffing Glade and you could smell him all over the floor.

[getoverit, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

Necrotizing Fascitis of the scrotom.

I"ve seen this one too, the poor guy died from complications. we had to put him in the hyperbaric chamber 2hours/day for several weeks before he finally passed.

these are all interesting cases. i had a guy one time who was shot in the occipital skull with his left eye blown out, result of a drug deal gone bad (do they really ever go well??). We inducted him, intubated, etc...the whole 9 yards and flew him in to the trauma center. the surgeon called the flight office a few days later to tell us he had been discharged home. turns out the bullet ricocheted off his skull and travelled the length of his scalp, exiting from his left orbit. he got some stitches, abx and a glass eye!! but i'm here to tell you....from first glance at the guy I thought "how in the world do you still have a pulse!!??"

[morte, LPN, LVN]

Creutzfeldt-Jakob.

Don't say the X-Files never taught you anything!

AKA Jacob-creutzfeldt