Triage complaints- the good, the bad, and the shocking.

Specialties Emergency

Published

"I was raped by an octopus."

"I have severe, severe, severe, SEVERE, SEVERE cold sores!" (five severes, I counted. And one cold sore visible.)

Discuss.

Had this one over the weekend:

Pt observed being "drugged" in by "friends", unable to ambulate without 2 person assistance.

Me: what happened here?

Friends: "he said he's been having a headache for a week, he refused to go to the hospital, now he's acting like an old man and he's not old".

Me: did he fall or something?

Friends: "we don't know, we found him lying like this, listen we have to go to work, his ID is in his front pocket"

Pt placed in W/C and taken to triage room. Upon triage, pt slow to answer questions, dried up blood noted on top of pt's head as well as his shoes.

Outcome: pt has a massive head bleed with a midline shift, as well as a hematoma. Pt intubated, taken to surgery to drain head bleed, then placed in ICU.

Friends certainly bounced before I was able to get more of the "story". Still don't know the entire story.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Had this one over the weekend:

Pt observed being "drugged" in by "friends", unable to ambulate without 2 person assistance.

Me: what happened here?

Friends: "he said he's been having a headache for a week, he refused to go to the hospital, now he's acting like an old man and he's not old".

Me: did he fall or something?

Friends: "we don't know, we found him lying like this, listen we have to go to work, his ID is in his front pocket"

Pt placed in W/C and taken to triage room. Upon triage, pt slow to answer questions, dried up blood noted on top of pt's head as well as his shoes.

Outcome: pt has a massive head bleed with a midline shift, as well as a hematoma. Pt intubated, taken to surgery to drain head bleed, then placed in ICU.

Friends certainly bounced before I was able to get more of the "story". Still don't know the entire story.

Love every story that ever starts with 'friends' brought in ;)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Guy came in for a spider bite

"A spider bit you?"

"Well I don't know if it bit me but I saw the spider I tried to kill it, then I felt something so I don't know if it bit me"

He had nothing, no bite, swelling, redness just lack of common sense.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/surg, Quality & Risk.
I had one recently say to me after some harmless bit of patient education (imagine snarky voice) "yeah, I know that ok? I went to medical school."

-I shall omit the myriad prejudiced reasons that I felt this was unlikely.-

"Do you mean you went to school to be a medical assistant?"

"Yes"

"I see"

Yeah, some girl tried to tell Judge Judy she was on medical school. Judge Judy was a butt about it, but put her in her place. COME ON, you can't tell me that MA students aren't aware that it's not "medical school."

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/surg, Quality & Risk.
I feel like when people have to start getting angry and defensive about how "they are an educated person!!" , they maybe aren't so much.

Yes, or claim they're a nurse, or a doctor, or whatever. I always ask what state and look them up. I've only found one out of 10-20 of them that wasn't lying.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

"I was licked by a racoon 2 days ago."

Yes, licked.

"My little finger hurts when I bang it into things."

"Did you injure it?"

"No, it only hurts when it hits stuff."

Up Vote Up Vote ×
"I was licked by a racoon 2 days ago."

Yes, licked.

"My little finger hurts when I bang it into things."

"Did you injure it?"

"No, it only hurts when it hits stuff."

That always cracks me up, when sitting still, they will be pain free, knowing something hurts.. They will then move, push, twist, bend ect to make it hurt, to tell me pain level.. Noooo stopppppppp lol

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency.

Wife calls 911, husband unable to speak. Squad says he talked just fine in rig. Pt talked to me, talked to doc, talked to neuro consult. Dx= didn't want to talk to wife. And i gotta tell ya, within 2 minutes of her arriving in the er, i totally understood why the pt stopped talking to her.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

18 year old constipation x2 days. Took a dump while waiting for MD, still wanted to be seen.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
18 year old constipation x2 days. Took a dump while waiting for MD still wanted to be seen.[/quote']

WOW...problem was solved...unless they wanted a complete blow out...:blink:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
Took medication on an empty stomach feeling nauseated.[/quote']

Oh the classic "empty stomach" complaint...:wacky:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency.
18 year old constipation x2 days. Took a dump while waiting for MD, still wanted to be seen.

We call this "TFS" (trapped fart syndrome).

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment