Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Finger Pain After Jamming During a Basketball Game

A 19-year-old college student presents to an urgent care center with pain at the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint of the middle finger of his right hand. He reports that the pain started suddenly the previous evening when the finger was jammed while he was playing basketball. The pain is worse through the range of motion, but there is no numbness and no pain at the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint.

Wrist Pain in an Adult After a Fall

A 62-year-old woman presents with left wrist pain that began after she fell onto her outstretched left hand earlier in the morning while walking her dog. She has wrist pain throughout the range of motion, as well as some pain in her hand. She sustained no injuries to her head or neck, and she has no head pain, neck pain, chest pain, or shortness of breath.

Shoulder Pain in a 62-Year-Old After a Fall

A 62-year-old man presents with right shoulder pain that began the previous evening after he fell in his garage. The pain is worse with movement through the range of motion. He has no pain in the elbow and says that he has no head pain or head injury. His social history reveals that he is a smoker and drinks alcohol. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be.

Clinical Challenge: March 2016

A 36-year-old man comes to an urgent care center reporting pain in his back that began the previous day. The pain is sharp and worse with certain changes in position. He does a lot of lifting at his job stocking shelves in a grocery store, but he cannot relate the onset of the pain to any specific lifting that he has done. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be.

Sudden-Onset Left-Sided Chest Pain

A 32-year-old man with a history of pneumothorax presents to the urgent care after a sudden onset of left-sided chest pain that started 30 minutes earlier when he was inhaling while smoking a cigarette. He reports shortness of breath, dizziness, and diaphoresis. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be.

Generalized Abdominal Pain with Nausea

A 67-year-old man presents, reporting constipation that has lasted 3 days. He has a constant, generalized dull abdominal pain that is intermittently worse, occurring in what he describes as waves. He has nausea and reports that he has vomited once. He reports no blood in the urine or stool, and no weight loss, dysuria or urinary frequency, or dizziness. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be. Differential Diagnoses Small …

Ankle Injury Sustained During an Amateur Football Game

A 25-year-old man presents to the urgent care center after a backyard game of football in which he twisted his ankle. Because of alcohol intoxication, he cannot remember the mechanism of injury. He reports isolated right ankle pain and is unable to bear weight. On physical examination, he has pain with palpation of the ankle, but there are no gross signs of deformity. An ankle x-ray has already been done by the time you see …

Chronic Cough and Shortness of Breath

A 74-year-old man without a significant past medical history presents to an urgent care center reporting 3 days of coughing productive of green sputum, shortness of breath that worsens with exertion, and chills. He says he has a chronic morning cough but states that the sputum has changed color and that his dyspnea has increased. He says he has not had any fever, chest pain, or lower extremity pain or swelling. View the image taken …

Shoulder Injury During Football Game

An 11-year-old boy presents with pain over the right clavicle that developed the previous day while he was playing football and another player fell on him. He has pain with range of motion of the right shoulder as well as with movement of the torso. He has no shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, or numbness of the arm. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be.

Clinical Challenge: December, 2015

Case A 56-year-old woman presents after a fall onto her outstretched hand. She has pain with range of motion of the wrist. She has no associated numbness or weakness and reports no other injuries. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be.