January 2025 Critical Care Case of the Month: A 35-Year-Old Admitted After a Fall
Wednesday, January 1, 2025 at 8:00AM
Rick Robbins, M.D. in chest x-ray, chiropractor, diagnosis, diaphragm paralysis, elevated hemidiaphragm, flouroscopy, neck manipulation, orthopnea, sniff test, treatment

Susanna G. Von Essen MD

University of Nebraska Medical Center

Omaha, NE USA

History of Present Illness

A 35-year-old was injured at work earlier that day. He fell approximately 10 feet while power washing a hog confinement pen from inside the bucket of a skid loader. He complained of pain in his left foot. He had struck his head but denied loss of consciousness. He was admitted to an outside hospital ICU for observation.

PMH, SH, and FH

Physical Examination

He is 5’5” and weighs 193 pounds. There is a head laceration and he has tenderness in his left foot. Otherwise, his physical examination is normal.

Radiology

A foot x-ray reveals fractures of the left second and third metatarsals. Head CT was interpreted as normal.

His chest x-ray is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Chest x-ray on the day of injury. To view Figure 1 in a separate enlarged window click here.

Which of the following are true? (Click on the correct answer to be directed to the first of seven pages

  1. His chest x-ray is normal.
  2. He has fractures of the 9th and 10th right ribs.
  3. He can be discharged from the hospital
  4. 1 and 3
  5. None of the above
Cite as: VonEssen SG. January 2025 Critical Care Case of the Month: A 35-Year-Old Admitted After a Fall. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care Sleep. 2024;30(1):1-4. doi: https://doi.org/10.13175/swjpccs036-24 PDF
Article originally appeared on Southwest Journal of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep (https://www.swjpcc.com/).
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