The labs have all come back on a 38-year-old female who you suspected had pyelonephritis. She had presented with 24 hours of flank pain and fever but no vomiting, abdominal pain or dysuria. Her last menstrual period was 2 weeks ago and she denies any possibility of pregnancy.

Your last patient of the evening is a 42-year-old veterinarian who recently returned from a trip to Mexico where he injured the dorsum of his right hand on a cactus spine. He states that he was able to remove the entire spine and the site subsequently became infected.

You breathe a small sigh of relief when your senior resident begins presenting his next case to you. The patient is a 17-year-old G1P0 who found out she was pregnant via a home pregnancy test last month. She presents to the ED at 6 AM because she has been vomiting all night and can’t sleep.

You are about to start your shift after a somewhat lengthy department meeting where one of the main topics discussed was utilization review with a special emphasis on cutting down the number of unnecessary advanced imaging studies. The physician champion for cutting down on unnecessary imaging had a lot of valid points.

Your next ED patient is a 47 year old male with a history of diabetes, hypertension, coronary arterial disease and CHF who presents with 2 weeks of gradually worsening leg swelling, abdominal swelling, and trouble sleeping due to orthopnea. He states that he has had the leg swelling and trouble breathing in the past from his CHF, but he has never had a “jelly belly” before. He denies any change in his medications or dietary indiscretion.