Cases That Test Your Skills
Cases That Test Your Skills
The angry patient with Asperger’s
Mr. A’s social skills are poor, and he has threatened and hit people when angry. What would you recommend for this anxious, depressed,...
Cases That Test Your Skills
A pacemaker patient’s electrical dilemma
Mrs. A’s depression is worsening, and antidepressant trials have failed. Is electroconvulsive therapy a safe option for this patient with an...
Cases That Test Your Skills
A mysterious physical and mental decline
Since Mr. C developed intermittent fever, hematuria, and fatigue 2 months ago, his short-term memory has diminished so much that he forgets to eat...
Cases That Test Your Skills
The inexplicably suicidal patient
After becoming confused, Mr. A attempts suicide by jumping off a bridge. He has a history of cognitive developmental delay but no psychiatric...
Cases That Test Your Skills
The sailor who won’t follow orders
Mr. L is rehospitalized 9 times in 3 months but repeatedly fails to adhere to outpatient treatment. What is the cause of his exasperating behavior...
Cases That Test Your Skills
The puzzling self-poisoner
Ms. M tried to kill herself with rat poison, and her coagulation values continue to rise. Is she secretly consuming more poison in her hospital...
Cases That Test Your Skills
The wilting widow’s masquerading illness
Mrs. D seems depressed since being treated for sepsis, and she has abrupt episodes of unresponsiveness and confusion. What’s causing these events...
Cases That Test Your Skills
‘I’ve been abducted by aliens’
Ms. S is afraid to sleep at night because that’s when the aliens come. Is she psychotic, or do her nocturnal experiences have another cause?
Cases That Test Your Skills
The patient who ‘spilled salt’
Mrs. V has psychotic depression and hyponatremia. Is beer drinking or diuretic use causing her low serum sodium? Or could it be something else?
Cases That Test Your Skills
A Reverend’s tale: Too tragic to be true?
After his pregnant fiancée dies, Reverend R is strangely jovial. He dodges efforts to verify the highly implausible history he reports. What’s...
Cases That Test Your Skills
When the pain decreased, her troubles began
Mrs. M, age 74, becomes paranoid, anxious, then delirious after starting a painkiller. Is the drug to blame? And if you stop the analgesic, how do...