A 62 year-old obese female with residual left-sided weakness from prior CVA presented with severe ankle pain after a fall. She was getting up from the toilet when her left knee gave out and she fell with her leg trapped underneath her body. After helping her back to bed, the patient’s daughter noticed her ankle and thought “it wasn’t supposed to look like that.” …
Read MoreWhen a patient presents to the emergency department with atraumatic monoarticular arthritis, it is important to rapidly determine the etiology because septic arthritis is a medical emergency that can lead to significant morbidity and mortality…
Read MoreThere may be a time when you don’t *gasp* have an x-ray machine. Osteophony is a 19th century technique by which practitioners would use the acoustic properties of intact versus disrupted bone to determine if there was a fracture or dislocation. Extra points if you can get orthopedics to come see the patient based solely on osteophony!
Read MoreA 52 year-old male presented to the emergency department with a chief complaint of right shoulder pain. In fact, the patient endorsed several years of shoulder pain, which he attributed to being right hand dominant, and the physical demands of his work as a contractor. One month prior to his presentation, the patient had also seen an orthopedic surgeon, who diagnosed him with a paralabral cyst, and subsequently drained it. After the procedure, the patient’s pain improved, but the effect was short lived…
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