Background: MRSA osteomyelitis in adults is a challenging disease to treat with a high rate of amputation. Patients often undergo prolonged antibiotic therapy and multiple debridements with varied success. In our study, we examine outcomes in 10 cases of MRSA osteomyelitis.   Methods: We performed a chart review to identify cases of biopsy-proven lower extremity […]

Background: Balancing attending supervision with resident autonomy is intended to ensure patient safety while allowing trainees to gain graduated competency and independence upon completion of residency. ACGME work-hour restrictions have increased attending supervision, but its effect on resident education and autonomy is unclear. In order to better understand the underlying tensions and contributing factors to […]

Case Presentation: A 58‐year‐old woman presented to our emergency room with low back pain and malaise to the point of being unable to perform activities of daily living for 1 week. She has a medical history significant for nephrolithiasis and carnitine palmitoyltransferase II (CPT II) deficiency, causing one documented episode of rhabdomyolysis 16 years prior […]

Background: UChicago Medicine (UCM) Office of Operational Excellence (OE) uses an institutional Leadership model called “Engage, Evolve, Excel” (E3L) to improve care delivery with lean, six sigma, and patient centered values. The E3L model focuses on the four domains of value creation, patient-centered care, respect for people, and continuous improvement. A hallmark feature of E3L […]

Case Presentation: A 75 year old woman with past medical history of hypothyroidism presented with weakness and the sensation of “large folds of skin” on the bottom of her feet. Pertinent physical exam findings included conjunctival pallor, nonspecific diffuse abdominal tenderness, and hyperpigmented macules of the dorsal finger tips and soles, which were also new […]

Case Presentation: 53 year‐old Hispanic male with history of recently diagnosed coronary artery disease, hypertension and diabetes mellitus presented with one day of abdominal pain followed by painful hematochezia. The abdominal pain was described as intermittent and colicky followed by tenesmus. The initial bloody stool had mixed bright blood and was followed by smaller bowel […]

Case Presentation: An 18‐year‐old woman without previous medical history on oral contraceptives (OCP) presented to the emergency department with headache and vomiting. The headache first appeared 4 days ago; it was moderate in intensity, bitemporal and occipital, and resolved on its own. The headache reappeared 1 day before, waking the patient out of sleep. It […]

Case Presentation: A 49-year-old healthy man presented to the emergency department with a two-year history of left inguinal pain that had been increasing in frequency and severity, to the point where he experienced difficulty with ambulation. He denied fevers, chills, weight loss, weakness or numbness in the extremity. Physical exam revealed a palpable left groin […]

Case Presentation: A 70 year old man with lung cancer presented from home to the emergency department after a bout of massive hematemesis. Four months ago, he was diagnosed with lung cancer spreading to mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes. He subsequently underwent radiation therapy which was directed at left hilar lymph nodes. He then developed worsening […]

Case Presentation: 25-year-old male with a past medical history of von Willebrand disease, thrombocytosis presented to an outside hospital (OSH) with acute onset chest pain. An EKG there showed ST-segment elevation in anterior leads after which he was emergently taken to the cardiac catheterization laboratory. He was found to have an left anterior descending (LAD) […]