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"Medical Journeys" is a set of clinical resources reviewed by doctors, meant for physicians and other healthcare professionals as well as the patients they serve. Each episode of this journey through a disease state contains both a physician guide and a downloadable/printable patient resource. "Medical Journeys" chart a path each step of the way for physicians and patients and provide continual resources and support, as the caregiver team navigates the course of a disease.
This installment: A noteworthy case study.
What is causing shortness of breath, joint pain, and an urticaria-like rash in a 57-year-old man that has persisted on and off for several decades? That was the challenge facing Yuxiang Zhi, MD, of Peking Union Medical College & Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in Beijing, China, and colleagues. As they described in the Journal of Asthma and Allergy, the episodes were often triggered by cold and usually lasted for 2-3 days.
Although the symptoms first developed when the patient was 6 years old, it wasn't until he was 23 that he visited a hospital for the first time after developing severe arthralgia. He was treated with an intravenous injection of penicillin and dexamethasone; this helped for a short time, but the cause remained undiagnosed and the attacks continued.
