Question

imagine that you are at a friend’s backyard party when her uncle starts to stumble, and complain of dizziness and tiredness. It looks like he is having difficulty breathing. He mentions that he was spraying for insects in the front yard and may have breathed in too much spray. He sits and relaxes, but does not feel any better after 15 minutes. His blue complexion provides a good signal that you should take him to the hospital. On the way to the hospital, his muscles go from tense to limp. Now his breathing has become shallow, and his speech is slurred. The emergency room physician at the hospital finds out that your friend’s uncle had a busy day before the party. He was involved in cleaning algae out of the large pond behind the house before spraying the yard. He ate some old beef stew that was sitting in the refrigerator. The stew did not look or smell bad. Your friend is very concerned about her uncle and asks you to explain what the physicians are looking for as the cause of her uncle’s illness. You explain that the physicians must use a process of elimination to determine what caused her uncle’s problems

What are the possible diseases? Please list actual disease names

Answer 1

Here, the first main point to be noted is the bluish discoloration of the skin or lip. This signifies inadequate oxygen supply. There is a shortness of breath associated with the same as well. Another important point seen here is slurred speech. A list of differential diagnosis with the respective reasons are as follows

1. Aspiration pneumonia: Accidental inhalation of anything such as food, spray, etc can cause this bluish discoloration.
2. COPD: Severe exercise throughout the day could have aggravated symptoms of COPD and uncle must have avoided symptoms further worsening symptoms leading to bluish discoloration.
3. Bells palsy: There are chances for the facial nerve inflammation leading to slurred speech. The reason for bell's palsy can be many. There are chances that uncle was suffering from any respiratory illness which must have worsened by now leading to Bell's palsy.