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Course: Abdominal Pain and Petechial Rash in a 95-Year-Old Farmer

CME Credits: 1.00

Released: 2023-04-14

A 95-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with 24 hours of abdominal pain, 2 weeks of diarrhea, and 3 months of intermittent abdominal bloating and anorexia. She was a farmer in rural Japan who did not drink alcohol and had been diagnosed with bullous pemphigoid 8 months prior, initially treated with prednisolone (15 mg daily). Her medications at presentation were prednisolone (8 mg daily) and lansoprazole. She had experienced 1 episode of dyspnea on exertion 2 weeks before presentation but reported no fevers, cough, wheeze, nausea or vomiting, hematochezia, or melena. In the emergency department, her temperature was 37.7 °C (99.9 °F); blood pressure, 110/56 mm Hg; heart rate, 125/min; and oxygen saturation, 95% on room air. On physical examination her lungs were clear to auscultation, and her abdomen was diffusely tender to palpation without rebound. Skin examination revealed purpuric macules and small thumbprint-like patches on the upper abdomen and central chest ().


Educational Objective
Based on this clinical scenario and the accompanying image, understand how to arrive at a correct diagnosis.


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