A 51-Year-Old Man with Shortness of Breath and ‘Burning’ in His Chest

The patient is a 51-year-old man with shortness of breath and an intermittent burning sensation in his chest. His symptoms began 2 days ago. Upon exam, you find: General: Alert and oriented Lungs: CTAB Cardiovascular: RRR without murmur, rub, or gallop Abdomen: Soft and NT without r/r/g View the ECG and consider what the diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.

Read More
A 3-Year-Old with Lesions on His Thumb

A 3-Year-Old with Lesions on His Thumb

A mother brings her 3-year-old son to urgent care with multiple skin lesions on his thumb, which he frequently sucked for comfort. The grouped configuration of lesions was painful and had developed over the last 5 days to become vesicles. Upon exam, you note that the boy has a nearly healed cold sore on his lip, pain in his wrist, and an elevated temperature. View the photo and consider what your diagnosis and next steps …

Read More

A 21-Year-Old Male with Persistent Ankle Pain Following Trauma

The patient is a 21-year-old male who presents with persistent ankle pain 4 weeks after suffering a trauma. He fell while scaling the exterior of his dormitory, trying to gain entry into a second-floor window because he’d locked his keys inside. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.

Read More

An 82-Year-Old Man with Palpitations

An 82-year-old man presents with complaints of palpitations. He denies chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, fever, vomiting, or confusion. Upon exam, you find: General: Alert and oriented Lungs: CTAB Cardiovascular: Regular and tachycardic without murmur, rub, or gallop Abdomen: Soft and nontender without rigidity, rebound, or guarding View the ECG and consider what the diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.

Read More

A 42-Year-Old Man with Thumb Pain After a Fall

A 42-year-old man arrived at your urgent care center complaining of thumb pain a day after taking a fall while skiing. You find that the pain is worse with movement in any direction; in addition, he exhibits limited ability to grip anything using his thumb. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page. <1–nextpage–> Differential Diagnosis Avulsion …

Read More

Clinical Challenge 2: April 2016

Case A 42-year-old woman presents with pain in her right shoulder that suddenly began after she caught herself with her raised right arm as she fell. She reports that she had been standing on a step stool and reaching for an object, and then fell forward. She has severe pain in the right shoulder, and it worsens with movement even through a minimal range of motion. She has associated numbness over the lateral portion of …

Read More

A 48-Year-Old Female with Pruritic Lesions

Case A 48-year-old woman presents with several red lesions that are extremely pruritic. They are scattered haphazardly on the back of her leg. A few of the lesions are still smooth nodules, but others are now excoriations; she just can’t stop scratching them no matter how hard she tries. She estimates they appeared nearly a month ago. She reports a history of atopic dermatitis, but “this doesn’t feel like the same thing.” View the photo …

Read More
A 26-Year-Old Man with Palpitations

A 26-Year-Old Man with Palpitations

The patient is a 26-year-old man who presents after 3 days of palpitations. He denies any chest pain, shortness of breath, diaphoresis, fever, or dizziness. He does use home oxygen (2 L/min), but denies any new shortness of breath. Upon exam, you find: General: Alert and oriented X 3 Lungs: Clear to auscultation bilaterally Cardiovascular: Regular and tachycardic without murmur, rub, or gallop Abdomen: Soft and nontender without rigidity, rebound, or guarding Extremities: No pain …

Read More
A 9-Year-Old Boy with Pain After Twisting His Knee

A 9-Year-Old Boy with Pain After Twisting His Knee

The patient is a 9-year-old boy who was brought in by his parents with right knee pain. He reports that he twisted it while reenacting Star Wars battles in the backyard with friends. His parents did not witness the injury. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.  

Read More