A 42-year-old man who presents to the ED with a 3- to 4-day history of diarrhea and intermittent abdominal pain and cramping. Present Illness : Patient and his family have been vacationing for the past week out-of-state in the region. His diarrhea had its onset 3 days ago and has worsened. Although he reports four to six bowel movements daily during that time, he suffers from urgency and reports the feeling he “has to sit on the toilet all day.” Stools have been watery until this morning, when he passed a mucous, blood-tinged stool.
He has taken two tablets of Imodium for each of the past 2 days, which slowed the diarrhea and allowed him to attend work. His illness has been associated with fatigue, occasional chills, and intermittent lower left abdominal pain and cramping. He reports no change in his appetite or weight and no night sweats since the onset of his illness. He presents to…
