Nine Lives

Patient, F, Mid 50s, Asian.

This was a previous patient with ventricular shunt, with h/o saggital vein thrombosis and aneurysm rupture as indicated in previous cases.

Patient develops acute severe onset of headache, fever, and neck pain.

She goes to the ER.

ER believes she has like cold symptoms.(It is unfortunate that the ER needs to see patients too quickly that sometimes things are missed.) Thus, they beleived her temperature was not high enough to be considered serious. Er sends patient home. Patient becomes more ill. Good son takes mother back to ER as her condition worsens.

ER conducts a CSF(cerebral spinal fluid analysis or Spinal Tap-side note great movie.) Doctors note that her symptoms are highly suggestive of acute meningitis. Meningism lining of the cover of the brain became irritated.

Patient is put on immediate IV and two ABs to cover gram positive and negative bacterial infections. My mother stated you cannot take a chance with a suspicion of meningitis.  The fatality rates can reach upwards of 50%.

Wonderfully, patient recovered fully and fever broke within a few days. CSF never grew culture. Which is odd(basically it is to confirm the bacterial infection, but patient still survived.)

If you read through my cases, this is the same patient who has survived three times through

1) aneurysm rupture
2) Saggital vein thrombosis
3) bacterial meningitis.

You could say given these ridiculous chances, she might have six more lives like a cat.