A patient presents with polyuria, polydipsia, diminished app…

A patient presents with polyuria, polydipsia, diminished appetite, signs and symptoms of dehydration and a blood glucose level of 958mg/dL.  There is no fruity or acetone odor on their breath.  Which of the following is the MOST likely explanation for the absence of a fruity/acetone breath odor:

You are working in the Emergency Department, caring for a pa…

You are working in the Emergency Department, caring for a patient with a long history of COPD.  She has more shortness of breath today than usual and states she is experiencing increased coughing, but it is non-productive.  She has a temperature of 99.8 F.  You have drawn arterial blood gases with the patient on room air, and when the report comes back, it shows that the patient has a PaO2 of 52 mm/Hg.  Which of the following is the MOST likely reason for that:

You respond to the scene of an attempted robbery at a conven…

You respond to the scene of an attempted robbery at a convenience store.  The store owner defended himself by stabbing the robber in the upper back about 1 centimeter to the right of spinous process T-6.  Your assessment reveals that the patient has a loss of motor and sensory on the ipsilateral side distal to T-6 and a loss of pain and temperature perception on the contralateral side.  You suspect: