Case Recap:
As you begin your shift, a 68-year-old woman presents with severe abdominal pain. She requires 4 mg of morphine before you can even talk to her. Surprisingly, her abdomen is soft, and not particularly tender. She is tachycardic to the 120s, and her pulse feels irregular. Her blood pressure is 100/50 mm Hg. It seems strange that her pain is so incongruent with her exam, and you wonder: What is the best imaging study to help clarify things?
Case Conclusion:
You recognized that she needed pain control and fluids along with a full sepsis workup, including lactate, ECG, CT abdominal angiography, and an almost-certain surgical consult. Her ECG showed atrial fibrillation, and the CT angio confirmed the diagnosis. She was emergently taken to the OR, where a dead bowel segment was resected and she had a surprisingly good recovery, thanks to your rapid mobilization of specialty care.
Did you get it right?
Brush up on most recent best practices in evaluating patients with abdominal pain in the ED with our 20th anniversary Emergency Medicine Practice issue, Assessing Abdominal Pain in Adults: A Rational, Cost-Effective, and Evidence-Based Strategy.
P.S. Emergency Medicine Practice celebrates its 20th anniversary this month! Click here to check out our story, our plans and our great anniversary sale!
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Last Updated on January 26, 2023
