An 80-year-old woman presented with symptoms of malaise, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, and watery diarrhea. According to the patient's daughter, the patient found a tick on her body about 3 to 4 weeks ago. The patient had a history of hypertension and hyperlipidemia and has been receiving oral medications for 15 years.
She also has had ulcerative colitis for 30 years, controlled with sulfasalazine. Physical examination State of the patient: Slightly confused and short of breath Blood pressure: 80/50 mmHg Respiratory rate: 32 breaths/min Heart rate: 120 beats/min Temperature: 38.1°C Skin examination: No rash Laboratory findings Peripheral smear examination: No schistocytes Chest X-ray examination: Diffuse bilateral interstitial and patchy air space opacities, along with moderate bilateral pleural effusions CT scan of the abdomen: Confirms the bilateral pleural effusions and…
