Patient Crashes….
I had to treat a young male in his 20s who fell off his motorcycle while making a sharp turn.
His vital signs were stable and all that was noted on his physical exam was left lower abdominal pain and scrotal tenderness.
This was a patient who was talking to me comfortably.
Ten minutes later I pass by the patient to assess his condition and noticed that he is sweating profusely…….I also start to sweat….What the hell happened to my stable patient???
Re-checking the vitals showed me that a stat check of glucose level had not been performed….it turned out that this young male with no pertinent medical history had a glucose level 35mg/dl. He also has a pelvic fracture and dislocation of the left hip.
Goddamn, you can’t take your eyes off of these patients for a second!!
The patient was eventually stabilized and sent to the operating room with the surgeons….:)
Sleepy ER Doctor Diaries 