Chief1C Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 One of our firemen is built like a telephone pole. He did something, wasn't injured, but had a sharp pain on inspiration. No rib fractures, yet he was clearly in A LOT of pain; pale, sweating profusely; short, quick resp. effort.. Drove himself to the ER.. Spontaneous Pneumo. That's why it popped in my mind that he stood up and had pain. There isn't an MD after my name, but I believe the Spontaneous Pneumothorax is something that can commonly occur in tall, thin men. Either that, or Pleurisy, which I've had; but the diminished sounds wouldn't fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fireflymedic Posted August 26, 2008 Author Share Posted August 26, 2008 Well, your patient did indeed have a spontaneous pneumo which you all clued in on. However, it was due to marfan syndrome which was the zebra I was looking for (large face, long arms, long legs, thin build) which made him a prime candidate. The guy was 6'4 and 170 lbs. Perfect example. Darted him, showed some improvement - two days in hospital and he was home. Good call ya'll ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Plain Ruff Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 but arizona was clueing in on Marfans I suspect. He wanted to know more about the build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzyzx Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 One of our VST's developed a spontaneous pneumo while at work. He didn't have Marfan's syndrome, but did have a family Hx of relatives developing pneumos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard B the EMT Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 OK, looked up Marfans Syndrome, and this is one of the sites that got googled up... http://www.marfan.org/nmf/index.jsp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief1C Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Now if his name was Marvin, that'd be great... Marvin the Marfan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard B the EMT Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Was that crackling sound I just heard your stretching the thread a bit? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letmesleep Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Common signs of Marfans Syndrome are Tall, Thin build, Elongated face, fingers, toes, forearms. I had a friend growing up who had a Large Lump (for lack of a better term right now) in his chest where his heart had grown faster than the chest wall had. From memory only, life expectancy wasn't very long approx 25 to 30 years old on average, although that has been many, many years ago, and my friend is approx 39 y/o now and still kicking. If I recall correctly Abe Lincoln also had Marfans syndrome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eydawn Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Marfan syndrome is pretty sad in most cases. It is rumored that Abe Lincoln had it, but there's no official way to tell whether or not that was the case. Pleurisy... I've had that. That hurt like a mother! Wendy CO EMT-B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firedoc5 Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 I know the scenario is pretty much done and over with, but. I was just curious that if he had a hx. of asthma as a kid and now smoked, did he not have an inhaler at all now? Or had it been so long since he had any trouble that he hadn't needed one until now? My cousin had this happen to him in his mid-teens. Luckily he was already in the hosp. when it occurred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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