Case #4
The Case of the Confused Historian

Case Goals
  • Identify the most likely diagnosis and describe the underlying cause
  • Initiate appropriate initial management
  • Determine the definitive (goal) treatment and arrange appropriate referral.

    • Goals

  • Identify the most likely diagnosis and describe the underlying cause
  • Initiate appropriate initial management
  • Determine the definitive (goal) treatment and arrange appropriate referral.
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    Assistant Avatar

    Hello Again! It is I, Dr. Alfred Schmurtz III. I have a wonderful case for you today that involves you thinking outside the box. It is going to require all of my acting skills for this one as I pretend to be Thelma Todd, a 60 year old who presents to the ER. She is lying in a stretcher in the middle of the busy hallway in the ER. That's all I will say for now! Go ahead and ask away!

    Case Complete!

    High Yield points about this case:

    • Carbon monoxide is called the 'silent killer' because it is colorless, odorless, and tasteless.
    • CO poisoning causes approximately 430 deaths annually in the United States.
    • Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the most effective treatment for severe carbon monoxide poisoning.
    • CO has 250 times stronger affinity for hemoglobin than oxygen, forming carboxyhemoglobin.
    • Cherry-red skin coloration, a classic sign of CO poisoning, is rarely observed clinically.