Question on sisters visit to ER

Published

Hello. I am starting the nursing program in January, taking other classes now to prepare. I have a question about my sister's trip to the ER. She went in Saturday due to high temperature and severe stomach pains. The doctor ordered a urine test, had to send it to the lab because he couldn't see anything in it, and told her she had a UTI. She stayed at my parents house that night because she was in so much pain. Sunday morning, pain was worse. My father took her back to the ER, they did a sonagram and found out her appendicts (Sorry if not spelled right) needed to come out right now. They had to do an incision due to the fact the infection was so bad, the doctor said it was the worst infection he had ever seen. She will probably go home Tuesday or Wednesday, but is still in alot of pain.

My question would be, was the initial ER doctor probably in a hurry when he first saw her, or is it hard to diagnose appendicitis?

Specializes in 6 years of ER fun, med/surg, blah, blah.

excellent web site & info you provided!:balloons:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in 6 years of ER fun, med/surg, blah, blah.

This is an excellent web site & information!:balloons:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER, PACU.

In my ER, I dont think they would have sent her home without at least a CT scan and/or a pelvic exam, especially since she was febrile. That being said, appendicitis can be a tricky bugger..it can present as so many things, symptoms can be minor or severe, and I have seen patients that have a negative CT scan and no white count just to show up again the next day, get scanned again, and how have enough inflammation that the CT scan shows it. The most important thing is that your sister is OK after all, but I do think that they should have done the CT scan.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in 6 years of ER fun, med/surg, blah, blah.
In my ER, I dont think they would have sent her home without at least a CT scan and/or a pelvic exam, especially since she was febrile. That being said, appendicitis can be a tricky bugger..it can present as so many things, symptoms can be minor or severe, and I have seen patients that have a negative CT scan and no white count just to show up again the next day, get scanned again, and how have enough inflammation that the CT scan shows it. The most important thing is that your sister is OK after all, but I do think that they should have done the CT scan.

I was reading in an ED Doc's magazine, that no one was ever sued for ordering a CT. It all depends on the symptoms & VS. It's easy to miss.

But then a "hot appy" is easy to dx.:twocents:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion