CASE 4

CHIEF COMPLAINT: Right shoulder injury.(Patient's complaint.)

MODE OF ARRIVAL: Private vehicle.

HISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS: The patient is a 59-year-old male who states that just prior to arrival he was going into a supermarket (Where accident occurred) when the revolving door suddenly slammed on him(How accident happened). It caught him across the right side of his chest anteriorly and posteriorly.(Location of the chest injury.) He was unable to liberate himself from the door, and an employee had to help him out. He denies any current shortness of breath, although did say he had the wind knocked out of him. He complains of pain in the anterior and posterior chest wall, posteriorly medial to the scapula. He denies any numbness, tingling or weakness in his right arm; however, he does state that it seems to be painful and difficult for him to either lift or even drop his arm. He again denies any numbness, tingling, or weakness distally. He denies any injury to his head or neck; although, he had a temporary episode of spasms on the left side of his neck. He has not taken anything for pain.

REVIEW OF SYSTEMS: Negative for fevers, chills, or unintentional weight loss. No neck pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, hemoptysis or cough.

All other systems have been reviewed and are negative except as noted.



PHYSICAL EXAMINATION:

General: The patient is awake and alert, lying comfortably in the treatment bed, he is nontoxic in appearance.

Vital Signs: Temperature= 98.3, pulse= 81, respirations= 16, blood pressure= 134/81, pulse oximetry= 95% on room air.

HEENT: The head is normocephalic and atraumatic.

Neck: Non-tender to palpation in the posterior midline. The trachea is midline. There is no subcutaneous emphysema. There is no tenderness over the paraspinous muscles.

Heart: Regular rate and rhythm without murmurs

Lungs: Clear to auscultation bilaterally without wheezes, crackles or rhonchi. The chest wall does expand

symmetrically.

Thorax/Chest Wall: Demonstrates mild tenderness anteriorly and demonstrates distinct tenderness posteriorly along the medial aspect of the scapula. No bruising or ecchymosis is noted on the skin of the chest wall. Patient keeps his right shoulder lowered. There is no deformity noted. There is no tenderness over the right clavicle. No bony deformity is noted there. There is no subcutaneous emphysema of the chest wall.

Extremities: Warm and dry without clubbing, cyanosis or edema. Grip strength is 5/5 bilaterally. Patient can flex and extend all fingers without difficulty. He can pronate and supinate at the elbow. He complains of pain in the shoulder when he flexes and extends at the elbow. Normal radial and ulnar pulses are appreciated in the bilateral upper extremities. Capillary refill is brisk. Sensation is normal in all nerve distributions in the bilateral arms.

Abdomen: Soft, non-distended. Non-tender.

Diagnostics: Two views of the chest, PA and lateral, and three views of the right shoulder were obtained. ED course: The patient received a total of 2 mg of Dilaudid for pain, 1 mg of sublingual Ativan. His arm was placed in a sling This was well tolerated and the patient was discharged home.

Medical Decision Making: It appears the patient has an anterior chest wall and a posterior chest wall contusion. The exact reasoning why he has so much difficulty moving the shoulder is unclear at this time, as he is completely neurologically intact from what I can tell. He can adduct and abduct at the shoulder, as I have seen him do it as he was moving around to be examined. X-rays demonstrate no evidence of fracture or dislocation. At this point, I am discharging the patient home, having him use ice packs, doing prescriptions for pain medications and having him return for new or worsening symptoms.

IMPRESSION:

1 Anterior and posterior chest wall contusion.

2 Right shoulder injury.

(Report codes for the definitive diagnosis.)

PLAN: Discharge home. Return for new or worsening symptoms. Sling for comfort.

What diagnosis code(s) are reported?

a) O09.803 (Threatened preterm labor, third trimester)
b) O26.899 (Other specified pregnancy-related conditions, unspecified trimester)
c) Z34.81 (Encounter for supervision of high-risk pregnancy, third trimester)
d) O36.899 (Maternal care for other fetal problems, third trimester)