Background: Prior studies have found Black and Hispanic patients are more likely to experience disparities in pain management. Fewer studies have evaluated pain control based on age, sex, body mass index (BMI), or presence of a substance use disorder (SUD). While factors influencing management of acute pain are complex, striving for adequate pain control remains […]

Case Presentation: A 45-year-old female with no significant medical history presented to the ED with three days of sharp epigastric pain radiating to the right lower quadrant associated with fever, chills, and multiple episodes of non-bilious, non-bloody emesis. She denied chest pain, shortness of breath, or bruising. Physical examination revealed normal vital signs except a […]

Case Presentation: A 50-year-old woman with history of ESRD on PD, CHF, and recent invasive pulmonary aspergillosis on posaconazole presents with three days of gradually progressive shortness of breath and right-sided chest pain. The chest pain was associated with coughing and deep breathing, but non-exertional with no hemoptysis. The patient lived with her sister and […]

Case Presentation: A previously healthy 29-year-old woman was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease of unknown etiology and initiated on daily peritoneal dialysis. Patient reported poor compliance with this treatment regimen and, five months later, presented to the emergency department with non-productive cough and pleuritic chest pain. She was found to have left upper lobe pneumonia […]

Case Presentation: A 40-year-old Hispanic male with a history of diabetes mellitus presented with recurrent febrile episodes. His temperature on admission was 41.6oC associated with seizure-like activity requiring intubation. Labs were significant for WBC 1,800, platelets 85,000, creatinine 1.53, AST 178, ALT 199, ALP 254, and HA1c 10.3%. RUQ ultrasound showed a hepatic lesion concerning […]

Case Presentation: A 31-year-old female with no pertinent past medical history presented first with right upper quadrant (RUQ) abdominal discomfort a year after giving birth to her first child in 2018. Prior to pregnancy, patient was taking oral contraceptives for nine years. The pregnancy was complicated by severe preeclampsia and associated nephrotic syndrome and LFT […]

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 68 year-old Spanish-speaking female with PMH of type 2 diabetes mellitus, GERD, and tobacco use presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with one day of acute-onset substernal chest pain associated with nausea/vomiting and bilateral arm numbness L>R. Initial workup revealed CXR with mass-like opacity in the right upper lobe, high sensitivity troponin […]

Case Presentation: An 82-year-old female with a past medical history of type II diabetes mellitus, prior CVA with residual right-sided weakness, CKD, and hyperlipidemia treated with atorvastatin presented to the ED for generalized weakness. The patient was previously hospitalized for weakness and received physical therapy as an inpatient before being discharged to a sub-acute rehabilitation […]

Case Presentation: A Caucasian male in his early 60s with metastatic pancreatic cancer presented to the urgent care with complaints of neck pain. He recently underwent kyphoplasty at the level of T3-T4 two weeks prior. He noticed a growing lump in his neck that grew over the last two days and associated with excruciating pain. […]