Is my hand broken?

Clinical Scenario

A 24 y/o guy presents in ED with the left hand upraised. 

“I fell off my bike yesterday – he says – I remember a serious impact with an outstreched palm.”

There aren’t wounds, he feels pain on the radial side of  left wrist, there is an anatomical snuffbox tenderness. The clamp sign is positive, but the resisted pronation maneuvre and the longitudinal compression test are negative.  

(see the video if you don’t remember the maneuvres)  

Is it broken? Asks worried the guy.

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Ottawa ankle rules. Does it really work?

Clinical Scenario

A 16 yo guy is brought in ED by his mother after a scholar accident.

While he was running, he crashed. 

My son has a sore ankle!  Is it broken? Asks the mother seriously worried.  

The ankle his slightly tumefied, there isn’t bone tenderness at the posterior edge or tips of either malleolus, neither there is pain during the pressure of the navicular bone or the base of the fifth metatarsal. 

Are you able to take 4 steps? - asks the doctor.

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Does every shoulder pain means magnetic risonance?

Clinical Scenario

A 35 y/o male come to the ED because of pain in his right shoulder, he refers the pain started some month ago during a tennis match, the pain continued but it wasn't so high so he kept playing in the last months, now it is worse. "My tennis mate told me I should perform a magnetic resonance, because it might be a rotator cuff disease" (RCD).

You listen to the patient but decide first to act as a physician and make the old and fascinating physical examination...

What you find is a normal movement of the shoulder, no pain in abducting the arm (arch test), no weakness or pain in internal and external rotation. (see video)

And so what?

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Alarm symptoms and gastric cancer. Are they alarms or they are alarming?

Clinical Scenario

It’s a busy Monday morning in ED. 

A doctor at the phone – calls the nurse – there’s a primary care physician. 

Hi – says a voice on the other side –  I’m in a patient’s home. 

He’s a 40 yo man with dyspepsia, his wife refers weight loss of about 10 Kg in the last three months. He is pale, but not tachicardic, abdomen is treatable, on rectal examination I find normal stool. 

I’m warried he probably has a gastric cancer, Is it possible to schedule an urgent gastroscopy for this morning?

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Age of 45 and dyspepsia.

Clinical Scenario

It’s the begining of another night shift in ED. Rik, an agreable young colleague approximates: Hi- he says – I have just seen a 60 y/o man who refers epigastric pain since 2 days. He denies bleeding and weight loss, he isn’t anemic. The bedside US shows a normal gallbladder and a normal abdominal aorta, ECG is OK. It seems an uncomplicated dyspepsia, but he is a 60y/o, I’m worried about a grastric cancer. 

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Clinical diagnosis of gastric ulcer. Does your gastroenerologist perform better?

Clinical Scenario

A 35 yo smokerman presents at morning to the ED. He refers epigastric pain since seven days. The pain worses after eating, he refers nausea without vomit and he denies melena and weight loss.

Palpation causes pain in epigastric region, there’s not fever, nor tachicardia, hemoglobin is 13 g/dL.  

Bedside US evidences a normal gallblader.  

Take antiacid said my doctor and don’t smoke – he says – I’m worried, Is it an ulcer? I wish to consult a gastroenterologist.

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Plain X ray in suspected bowel obstruction. Is that all?

Clinical Scenario

A 67 y/o woman arrives in the ED at 5pm because of diffused abdominal pain since 2 hours. She has nausea and she refers costipation from the day before. 

She has a history of hysterectomy 5 years before because of fibroma.

Vital signs are normal, she presents pale and sufferer for pain, the abdomen is distendend and palpation cause pain all over it. 

Bowel movements are present but abnormal. 

Plain x ray shows 2 little fluid levels without the evidence of dilated loops of bowel, so radiologist describe it as negative.

Has plain x ray changed your previous clinical judgment about the suspect of bowel obstruction?

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