Cholera physical examination
|
Cholera Microchapters |
|
Diagnosis |
|---|
|
Treatment |
|
Case Studies |
|
Cholera physical examination On the Web |
|
American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Cholera physical examination |
|
Risk calculators and risk factors for Cholera physical examination |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editors-In-Chief: Priyamvada Singh, MBBS [2]
Overview
Patient may give a history of consumption of contaminated food or water, and travel to an endemic area. The symptoms usually develop within 24-48 hour of consumption of contaminated food. Patient presents with sudden onset, painless, odorless, rice watery large volume stool, abdominal cramps, vomiting and fever. If the severe diarrhea and vomiting are not aggressively treated, they can, within hours, result in life-threatening dehydration and electrolyte imbalances. The typical symptoms of dehydration include dizziness ( due to low blood pressure), wrinkled hands (poor skin turgor) , sunken eyes, mucle cramps (decreased potassium), and decreased urine output.
Physical examination
The signs on physical examination depends on the level of dehydration
- Vitals
- weak thready or absent pulse (tachycardia)
- Postural hypotension
- Somnolence and coma
- Dry mucous membrane, excessive thirst, weakness, fatigue
- Sunken eyes
- Oliguria
- Wrinkled skin