Clinical Toxicology Diagnosis Activity 3

 

Ryan was admitted to hospital last night with a condition. Take a look at the following accounts of his brother, friend and doctor outlining the events up to and following his hospital admittance and his symptoms and see if you can tell what he is suffering from.

 

 

Account of Friend (Barry)

 

“It was Ryan’s 21^st birthday last night and we all met up at his house for drinks before going out on the town. We had champagne and other drinks and took some shots before ordering a taxi to the club in town. We arrived at the club at about 10pm and we had more drinks and shots. I had noticed that Ryan had not eaten anything for dinner as I had been with him the entire evening but I thought nothing of it. Ryan disappeared for a while and we were a bit concerned about him so I went to check the toilets to see if he was there. I found him in the toilet cubicle being sick into the toilet bowl so I thought we had best get him home. I rang for a taxi but every taxi that came refused to let him into the car because of his state. Eventually I became even more worried about Ryan because he would not stop being sick and was completely out of it so I rang his brother who came down in about 10 minutes.”

 

 

Account of Brother

 

“When I arrived I found Ryan slumped against a wall bending over and trying to be sick. Barry was with him and looked pretty relieved to see me. He explained what had happened and we then tried to get Ryan into my car but he could not move for being sick. He was cold and clammy and was breathing very slowly. After about 10 minutes of trying to move him he began to seizure so I called for an ambulance. The ambulance arrived and I accompanied him to the hospital.

 

 

Account of Doctor

“Ryan arrived at the hospital at about midnight displaying typical signs of being drunk but upon closer examination it was clear that he needed urgent medical attention. He was seizing and convulsing so we took him to have his stomach pumped and administered some oxygen therapy. After this he stopped seizing and passed out. The next day he had quite a sore head and was taken home where he made a full recovery after 24 hours.”

 

 

 

 

 

Clinical Toxicology Diagnosis Activity 2

Alison was out with her girlfriends last Saturday night. She was having a great time until she noticed that she did not feel well. She thought she might have had too much to drink but she did not think she drank that much. Have a look at the following accounts from her mother, friend and doctor detailing what happened to Alison.

 

 

Account of Friend

 

“We were all having a really great time at the club! Dancing and having a laugh which is usual for us on a Saturday night. However, as the night progressed I noticed a change in Alison, she was not her usual bubbly self. She disappeared about half an hour after I noticed a change in her and I went to check on her in the toilets. I called out her name but at first there was no response, when I called it again I heard a murmur coming from one of the toilet cubicles. I opened it to find Alison half passed out sitting on the toilet. I thought she must have had a bit too much to drink so I rang her mother to come pick her up.”

 

 

Account of Mother

 

“Becky rang me at about half ten and told me that Alison had had a bit too much to drink and asked if I could come pick her up as she was worried about her. I agreed but I thought this unusual as Alison never has enough alcohol to make her pass out like that, and that early as well. I drove to the club where the girls were and Becky brought Alison out to the car, she could hardly stand. I thanked Becky and began the drive home. I said to Alison that it was not like her and that I was disappointed but she did not respond. About ten minutes later she woke up and did not know where she was, she began to panic, so much so that I had to stop the car to calm her. She then opened the door and started to vomit violently. I decided to take her to the hospital just to be sure nothing was seriously wrong with her.”

 

 

Account of Doctor

 

“Alison was brought into the hospital at about half 10 at night by her mother. Her mother seemed deeply concerned that Alison had had too much alcohol and might need her stomach pumped. Upon examination of Alison I can conclude that she definitely did not have enough alcohol within her system to require a stomach pumping but her symptoms were very unusual. She seemed to have difficulty concentrating, she was confused and did not know where she was, she was drowsy and seemed as though she wanted to sleep, she had stopped vomiting but complained of feeling sick, she had difficulty speaking and nearly no balance when she stood up. It seemed as though she was drunk but it was difficult to tell. She recovered after a night’s stay at the hospital.”

 

 

Clinical Toxicology Diagnosis Activity 1

 

Peter was recently admitted to hospital as there was something seriously wrong with him but his family could not figure out what it was. Take a look at the following accounts of his father and doctor outlining his symptoms and see if you know his condition.

 

 

Account of Father

 

“I first noticed something was wrong with Peter about four or five hours after dinner last night. He seemed very pale and was complaining of feeling sick so I suggested he lie down and rest himself to see if that helped. I did not think it would be as serious as it became. He started running to the toilet in the middle of the night and was vomiting and complaining of diarrhoea. He had a fever and said his stomach was very painful. When we realised that there was no way we were going to be able to stop him from constantly vomiting we took him to the hospital to see if they would know what was wrong. He made a full recovery about four days later and we were relieved that it was not too serious.”

 

 

 

Account of Doctor

 

“Peter was brought into the hospital at around 3am. He had to have a pan with him at all times as he kept vomiting and retching. We were worried about him being dehydrated as he had vomited quite a bit according to his father so we put him on a drip to administer fluids intravenously. He did have a fever but we administered him with medication for this and also put him on a course of antibiotics. Once we were sure he was properly hydrated and had stopped vomiting we were able to allow him to go home where he made a full recovery after four days. We suspect that it may have been something that he ingested which caused his reaction.”