Twenty-Nine, Male, and Dangerously Ill
A young man with fevers and groin pain leads E.R. doctors on a race to find the cause.
“I’m sending you a patient.” The voice on the phone belonged to Fabio Giron, a critical-care specialist and one of the smartest doctors I know. “Twenty-nine-year-old guy, headache, photophobia, fevers off and on for two weeks. Trouble urinating. Ataxic gait.”
“Bizarre,” I replied. “Start with a head CT and spinal tap?”
“Definitely. I can’t figure out if it’s viral meningitis or maybe a brain abscess,” Fabio said.
Th...
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