"You better see this one," my ER nurse, Elsa, urged. "Too pale, too pale." I had already sent in Jeff, my medical student, for what seemed like a routine case: a 30-something woman complaining of cough, low-grade fever and fatigue for a week. I reread the chart: pulse 114 (a tad high), fever 100.4, good blood pressure and oxygen saturation near normal at 96 percent. This sure looked like the flu. Hustling over, I found Jeff diligently noting his findings in a small notebook. The patient - a thin, blond woman wearing a slightly startled expression - did her best to answer him.
展开▼
