mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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- 48
- 48
Very hot day, you have two calls back to back.
The first: a construction worker became the momentary route to ground for 6 kilovolt wires through his arm. His partner knocked the power off after a couple seconds, breathing returned spontaneously after less than a minute. A white patch with a tiny black punctum in the middle is on his palm; by his elbow, a black tattoo like curlycue with tiny white spots in it. Pt is in great pain and cannotn use the arm. You start an IV, transport, and drop him off at the local ER.
Next run: high school atheletes "play chess" with a new kid; they lay out a chess set, and if the new kid can squat and pick up each piece in the following manner he can join the team: squat, pick up first piece, squat , return it to the board, stand. Squat, get that piece, stand, squat/return it, then do the same for the next piece, through all the pieces of the chess set. After the second bishop the new kid collapses. You start an IV and he perks up some in the unit, and you drop him off at the same ER.
As you drop hm off you glance in and see your first pt; he is sedated, a urinary catheter is in pace and copious wine-red urine is in the bag.
You stop by the ER after a few hours and the football wannabe is still there, and he too has a urinary catheter in place and wine red urine in the bag.
What is happening?
HINTS: the worker lost his arm, and both wound up on dialysis for a period.
These are from two real cases.
The first: a construction worker became the momentary route to ground for 6 kilovolt wires through his arm. His partner knocked the power off after a couple seconds, breathing returned spontaneously after less than a minute. A white patch with a tiny black punctum in the middle is on his palm; by his elbow, a black tattoo like curlycue with tiny white spots in it. Pt is in great pain and cannotn use the arm. You start an IV, transport, and drop him off at the local ER.
Next run: high school atheletes "play chess" with a new kid; they lay out a chess set, and if the new kid can squat and pick up each piece in the following manner he can join the team: squat, pick up first piece, squat , return it to the board, stand. Squat, get that piece, stand, squat/return it, then do the same for the next piece, through all the pieces of the chess set. After the second bishop the new kid collapses. You start an IV and he perks up some in the unit, and you drop him off at the same ER.
As you drop hm off you glance in and see your first pt; he is sedated, a urinary catheter is in pace and copious wine-red urine is in the bag.
You stop by the ER after a few hours and the football wannabe is still there, and he too has a urinary catheter in place and wine red urine in the bag.
What is happening?
HINTS: the worker lost his arm, and both wound up on dialysis for a period.
These are from two real cases.