J.R., a 47-year-old woman, presented with generalized abdominal pain that began 3 days ago. The general review concludes that the patient did not take any medication because she did not know what caused the pain and what remedies could help eliminate it. She claims that after three days, the pain is rated at 5/10, but on the first day, when the pain attacks began, it was 9/10. The patient also noted that she could eat, but after eating, she was sick. The woman is overweight, body temperature and blood pressure are elevated, 99.8° F and 160/86, respectively.
The current diagnosis is gastroenteritis, which at this stage is difficult to refute, as it is confirmed by the symptoms identified in the patient, supported by subjective and objective information. The clinical picture of many types of gastroenteritis is obvious, and to make a diagnosis, it is enough for a doctor to ask the patient about complaints and conduct a general examination. The main symptoms of gastroenteritis are nausea, vomiting, and changes in the stool; quite often, the patient has a fever, severe headaches, and pains in the abdomen, especially in the navel (Viral gastroenteritis, 2022). When probing the abdomen, swollen intestinal loops are detected. The doctor can listen to the work of the intestine, which is usually very active during the disease, accompanied by many sounds, which are also observed in the patient.
Differential diseases with similar symptoms can be enterovirus infection, norovirus infection, and dyspepsia. The primary and common symptoms of the identified diseases are abdominal pain and nausea. Enteroviral infection reproduces primarily in the gastrointestinal tract, so the first symptoms are similar to other intestinal infections (Sinclair & Omar, 2021).
The occurrence of symptoms of SARS should be traced in order to confirm or refute the diagnosis. The norovirus infection comes from the enterovirus family, and the fever is minimal, but the patient’s condition stabilizes within a few days (Sinclair & Omar, 2021). Dyspepsia is manifested by pain or a feeling of heaviness (fullness) in the upper abdomen. Such discomfort may be unrelated to eating, accompanied by nausea, bloating, heartburn, and belching (Dyspepsia). Observing the patient more and, if necessary, conducting additional studies to confirm a particular diagnosis is necessary.
References
Dyspepsia. NHS. (n.d.). Web.
Sinclair, W., & Omar, M. (2021). Enterovirus. NLM. Web.
Viral gastroenteritis (stomach flu). (2022). Mayo Clinic. Web.