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Office of Education
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Jennifer Parker: DiscussionThe next day the patient has continued severe pain despite your therapy, develops fever, dyspnea, and hypotension. The serum amylase increases to 1200, platelet count drops to 60K and CXR reveals bilateral interstitial infiltrates. What potential complications can account for her clinical course? Are there features at presentation that could have predicted this subsequent clinical course? Although the patient describes herself as only a ³social drinker², her husband phones to tell you that he is concerned because she has been drinking several vodka drinks each night and asks if her drinking is related to her illness. How do you respond? A member of the health care team strongly recommends that serum amylase and lipase be measured at least daily. Do you agree? What is the charge for these measurements? Next: References listing for this case  |
