Mrs D lived alone and had no family nearby. She was found when neighbours investigated her kitchen light being on in the early hours of the morning. She had not visited her GP in many years, was not known to have any co-morbidities and did not take any prescribed medication.
- Her blood and radiology results were consistent with pneumonia. Her renal function was not impaired and her creatine kinase (CK) was not raised. Her ECG and CT head were unremarkable.
She was reviewed by the orthogeriatric, palliative care and pain teams the morning after her admission. There was agreement with the admitting team that she was unlikely to survive an operative procedure. However, there was uncertainty about her prognosis. It was agreed to continue with active medical management at that stage.
Before continuing, consider how you would manage this patient.
