Desaturation to 64% on room air
Desaturation to 64% on room air
Clinical Scenario:
REASON FOR CONSULTATION: Desaturation to 64% on room air 1 hour ago with associated shortness of breath.
HISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS: Mrs. X is 73-year-old Caucasian female who was admitted to the general surgery service 3 days ago for a leaking j-tube which was surgically replaced 2 days ago and is now working properly. This morning at 07:30, the RN reported that the patient was sleeping and doing fine, then the CNA made rounds at 0900 and Mrs. X was found be mildly dyspneic. Vital signs were checked at that time and were; temperature 38.6, pulse 120, respirations 22, blood pressure 138/38. O2 sat was 64% on room air. The general surgeon was notified by the nursing staff of the hypoxia, an order for a chest x-ray and oxygen therapy were given to the RN. The O2 sat is maintaining at 91% on 4L NC. The patient was seen and examined at 10:10 a.m. She reports that she has been having mild dyspnea for 2 days that has progressively gotten worse. She does not use oxygen at home. Her respiratory rate at the time of visit was 22 and she feels short of breath. She has felt this way in the past when she had pneumonia. She is currently undergoing radiation treatment for laryngeal cancer and her last treatment was 1 to 2 weeks ago. She reports that she has 2 to 3 treatments left. She denies any chest pain at this time and denies any previous history of CHF. Review of her vital signs show that she has been having intermittent fevers since yesterday morning. Of note, she was admitted to the hospital 3 weeks ago for an atrial fibrillation with RVR for which she was cardioverted and has not had any further problems. The cardiologist at that time said that she did not need any anticoagulation unless she reverted back into A-fib.
REVIEW OF SYSTEMS:
Constitutional: Negative for diaphoresis and chills. Positive for fever and fatigue.
HEENT: Negative for hearing loss, ear pain, nose bleeds, tinnitus. Positive for throat pain secondary to her laryngeal cancer.
Eyes: Negative for blurred vision, double vision, photophobia, discharge or redness.
Respiratory: Positive for cough and shortness of breath. Negative for hemoptysis and wheezing.
Cardiovascular: Negative for chest pain, palpitations, orthopnea, leg swelling or PND.
Gastrointestinal: Negative for heartburn, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, blood in stool or melena.
Genitourinary: Negative for dysuria, urgency, frequency, hematuria and flank pain.
Musculoskeletal: Negative for myalgias, back pain and falls.
Skin: Negative for itching and rash.
