An Unexplained Short-Term Memory Loss

​BY JORDAN DEMCHUKA 59-year-old Caucasian man with a past medical history of well-controlled hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and gout presented to the ED with altered mental status. His wife reported that he was found two hours earlier in his home office confused, unable to recall plans made that morning, the current time and date, and his brother's death a year and a half earlier. She stated that the patient was repeating, “I don't know what's happening,” while anxiously pacing around the room. She said he had a history of falls and head injury at age 7, which was accompanied by brief amnesia that had not recurred.The patient could not remember any of the events from that morning. He was unsure of any falls or trauma that had occurred before. He had no fever, headache, dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, vomiting, neck pain or stiffness, urinary incontinence, dysuria, weakness, slurred speech, or parasthesias of the extremities. The patient and his wife said he had no history of previous symptoms or seizures. His medications included amlodipine, allopurinol, and atorvastatin. No relevant family history was obtained. The patient did not use tobacco, alcohol, or illicit substances.His physical examination on admission revealed a temperature of 98.2°F, a blood pressure of 187/101 mm Hg, a heart rate of 99 bpm, a respiration rate of 20 bpm, and oxygen saturation was 98% on room air. No jugular venous distension or carotid bruits were appreciated. His cardiac exam revealed a...
Source: The Case Files - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: research