Background: Due to their widespread availability, inflammatory markers are used with increasing frequency, often concurrently, without adding any diagnostic or clinical benefit1,2. While unnecessary labs do not offer any additional benefit, they can be a significant source of physical and emotional distress to patients and their families3-5. In an era that emphasizes high-value, low-cost medical [...]

Case Presentation: Case presentation:A 56 year-old caucasian man with no significant past medical history presented to our center with acute left upper quadrant abdominal pain. CT angiography of the thorax was performed to rule-out pulmonary embolism which showed thickening and enhancement of the splenic and hepatic arteries without aneurysmal dilatation. To evaluate this further, a [...]

Case Presentation: A 31-year-old healthy man presented with several days of chest and back pain associated with shortness of breath, subjective fever, headache, and photophobia. The patient worked in construction and complained of a recent itchy, vesicular rash to his forearm. Review of systems was otherwise negative for recent procedures or surgeries, IV drug use, [...]

Case Presentation: A 37-year-old female presented to urgent care for one month of bloody bowel movements, approximately 30 each day with accompanying tenesmus, night time accidents, urgency, mild weight loss, and some fatigue. She had no extra-intestinal inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) symptoms, recent travel, antibiotic use, or dietary changes. The labs obtained during the urgent [...]