Vital Signs: Where's That Infection?
What seems like an ordinary urinary tract infection can sometimes be much worse.
I walked into the emergency room and was confronted immediately. “Twenty-year-old woman, vomiting for 12 hours,” Andreas, my ER resident, told me. “Total body pain, fevers, can barely walk.”He handed over the nursing note. “Chief complaint: chills, fever, nausea, vomiting.” Surprisingly, the patient’s temperature, pulse, and blood pressure were normal.“Normal vitals and no fever?” I asked. “Can’t be too sick, can she? Gastroenteritis?”“She looks pretty bad,” Andreas responded. “And there’s some...
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