Question

You are starting your shift and your physician immediately picks up 3 patients. The first patient is presenting with a productive cough steadily worsening since onset 4 weeks ago. The second patient has had abdominal discomfort slowly localizing into the right lower abdomen with accompanying fever over the last 6 hours and on PE, the patient has RLQ tenderness on palpation. The third patient has urinary sx and urinedip has already resulted and is positive for leukocytes and bacteria. Given the information, what might the most likely diagnoses' end up being for these patients?

a) PNA, Appendicitis, UTI
b) TB, Diverticulitis, Urosepsis
c) URI, Cholecystitis, UTI
d) PNA, Pancreatitis, UTI
e) PNA, Appendicitis, negative for UTI

Answer 1

The patient with a productive cough worsening over 4 weeks is likely suffering from a lower respiratory tract infection is, a) PNA, Appendicitis, UTI

Step-by-step explanation:

First Patient (Productive Cough): The patient with a productive cough worsening over 4 weeks is likely suffering from a lower respiratory tract infection. This aligns with PNA (Pneumonia).

Second Patient (Abdominal Discomfort, RLQ Tenderness): The symptoms of abdominal discomfort localizing to the right lower abdomen, accompanied by fever and RLQ tenderness on palpation, point towards appendicitis. Therefore, the second diagnosis is Appendicitis.

Third Patient (Urinary Symptoms, Positive Urine Dip): The presence of urinary symptoms, along with a positive urine dip for leukocytes and bacteria, is indicative of a urinary tract infection (UTI).

In summary, the most likely diagnoses for the three patients are Pneumonia (PNA), Appendicitis, and Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). Therefore, option (a) is correct.