Case Presentation: A 53-year-old male with a past medical history of hypertension who recently emigrated from El Salvador presented to an ambulatory clinic for evaluation of substernal chest pain that started eight days earlier. He described the chest pain as intermittent, non-radiating, and associated with palpitations, chills, shortness of breath, and diaphoresis. He denied fever, […]

Case Presentation: A 22-year-old man with Asperger syndrome presented with five days of fever and acute confusion after an episode of pharyngitis. Vital signs were significant for T 39.3°C, HR 120/min, BP 93/57 mmHg, and RR 22/min with O2 sat 94% on 4L. Physical exam was remarkable for thick oral secretions, tenderness to palpation of […]

Background: As hospitals focus on central venous catheter associated bloodstream infections (CVC-BSI), the impact of peripheral venous catheter (PVC) associated bloodstream infections (PVC-BSI) may be underappreciated. There are conflicting recommendations on how to manage PVCs, including when to replace them (1)(2)(3), and inconsistencies in nursing practice in following PVC management guidelines (4). There are an […]

Case Presentation: A 90 year old Caucasian female with history of complicated diverticulitis s/p partial colectomy and Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia (last treatment with Cyclophosphamide and Dexamethasone 1 week prior to presentation) was admitted with 2 day history of crampy lower abdominal pain, bloody streaked diarrhea, vomiting, and subjective chills. Physical examination elicited tachycardia and diffuse abdominal […]

Case Presentation: A 70-year-old man with history of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (status-post 2 cycles of CHOP chemotherapy), COPD, stage 3 chronic kidney disease, and diabetes mellitus presented with generalized weakness and diarrhea. His symptoms began three days prior with head pain, chills, and weakness. He then developed increasing diarrhea from his baseline of one […]