16 DQ 2

    Based on the following information, create a list of three differential diagnoses and explain why you would include them on your list.

    History
    C.R., a 34-year-old man, came to your clinic with an episode of chest pain. He has a previous history of occasional stabbing chest pain for 2 years. The current pain had come on 4 hours earlier at 8 p.m. and has been persistent since then. It is central in position, with some radiation to both sides of the chest. It is not associated with shortness of breath or palpitations. The pain is relieved by sitting up and leaning forward. Two Tylenol tablets taken earlier at 9 p.m. did not make any difference to the pain.

    The previous chest pain had been occasional, lasting a second or two at a time and with no particular precipitating factors. It has usually been on the left side of the chest although the position has varied.

    Two weeks previously he had mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19 which lasted 14 days. This consisted of a sore throat, low-grade fever, loss of taste and smell, and a cough. His wife and two children were ill at the same time with similar symptoms but have been well since then. He has a history of migraines. In the family history, his father had a myocardial infarction at the age of 51 years and was found to have a marginally high cholesterol level. His mother and two sisters, aged 36 and 38 years, are well. After his father’s infarct, he had his lipids measured; the cholesterol was 5.1 mmol/L (desirable range < 5.5 mmol/L). He is a nonsmoker who drinks two 12-packs of beer per week.

    Examination
    His pulse rate is 75/min, blood pressure 124/78 mmHg. His temperature is 37.8C. There is nothing abnormal to find in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The ECG findings include diffuse concave-upward ST-segment elevation and, occasionally, PR-segment depression.

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