Man gets drunk, wakes up with a medical mystery that nearly kills him
13 hours ago
- #clinical reasoning
- #multi-system illness
- #medical mystery
- A 36-year-old man presented with severe, multi-system abnormalities including lung, intestinal, blood, liver, and lymphatic issues.
- The patient initially developed mild abdominal and back pain, followed by fever, body aches, nausea, vomiting, cough, and breathing difficulties.
- Upon returning to urgent care, he exhibited jaundice, low blood pressure, low oxygen saturation (85%), and crackling lungs.
- Medical history revealed alcohol use disorder (4-5 beers nightly, up to 12/day on weekends), though he hadn't drunk during his illness.
- Case was complex, requiring expert clinical reasoning to diagnose the underlying cause.