Fascinomas- Fascinating Medical Mysteries by Clifton K Meador

Author:Clifton K Meador [Meador, Clifton K]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781491029275
Published: 2013-10-29T04:00:00+00:00

*Story told by Dr. Clifton Meador

Chapter Nineteen

2+2=Fortunate *

Carl Simons came home around lunch time and began cooking hamburgers.

Within an hour, the young man developed a severe headache, nausea and vomiting. He had a friend take him to the ER, where he was admitted with a suspected cerebral hemorrhage.

CT scan of the brain was normal, but he was admitted for observation and further studies. Simons, 28, mentioned to the admitting resident Dr. Clark Brown that, ironically, his roommate had also been admitted to the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) that morning. A neighbor had seen the ambulance and called the hospital to check on him. Simons didn’t have any more details, because he had been working at his job at the time. Dr. Brown listened, but was mostly focused on his frustration over not being able to make a definitive diagnosis on Simons.

That evening, the Chairman of the Department of Medicine scheduled the first monthly orientation sessions for new housestaff. Attendance was mandatory. Conversations soon turned to which resident had the most interesting case. Dr. Blair Wiggins, a resident rotating on the Intensive Care Unit, told the story of a truck driver named Steve Rogers, age 29, who had been admitted to ICU that day from the ER. Initially, Rogers was unconscious and completely unresponsive. After intubation, he was placed on a ventilator. All blood gases and other studies were normal. As Dr. Wiggins was signing out to come to the orientation, however, the patient had begun to move his arms a bit. Wiggins said no one involved in the case had any idea what had caused Rogers to stop breathing.

Clark Brown, also at the meeting, began talking to Wiggins about other patient histories from the week. Brown was telling Wiggins about a frustrating case in the ER, a guy named Carl Simons, whom he couldn’t diagnose. Suddenly, Brown remembered what Simons had said about his roommate and told Wiggins. Rogers must be Simons roommate!

Wait a minute. Two roommates. Sick on the same day. Both with undiagnosed illnesses, one near fatal. The two residents immediately came to the same conclusion: There must be something toxic in the apartment.

Wiggins called the resident covering for him in the ICU. “I think we know what’s wrong with Steve Rogers. Get a carboxyhemoglobin stat!” He related Dr. Brown’s story of the roommate being admitted the same day. “And get one on Carl Simons down on 6-C, too.”

The carboxyhemglobin level on Rogers came back very high, proving carbon monoxide poisoning. The level on Simons was also high but significantly lower than Rogers’, indicating exposure to the poisonous gas but not as much.

The fire department was notified, and the young men’s apartment was inspected. Fire inspectors traced the source of the carbon monoxide to a second hand unventilated stovetop cooker the duo had purchased.

When Steve Rogers recovered, he told his story. He had come home from work and started cooking supper, but quickly developed a severe headache and nausea. He decided to lie down and rest but became sicker and sicker.

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