West Brian T, Kaluza Amy
Genesys Regional Medical Center/Michigan State University Affiliated Emergency Medicine Program, Grand Blanc, Michigan.
J Emerg Med. 2011 May;40(5):e89-91. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2007.11.105. Epub 2008 Jul 26.
Patients often present to the Emergency Department (ED) with a constellation of seemingly unassociated complaints. It is a clinical challenge not only to address all signs and symptoms that concern the patient but to reconcile these incongruous findings into one all-encompassing diagnosis. We present the case of a 48-year-old man who manifested neurologic, cardiac, and constitutional signs and symptoms in the ED. Through historic clues, physical examination findings, and electrocardiogram, we obtained an urgent cardiac ultrasound that demonstrated a large left atrial myxoma. This one disease entity was able to explain all of the patient's diverse findings.