Resolved question:
I am worried. My 88 year old mother is in hospital. She is supposed to have an abdominal ultrasound this morning -- she was supposed to have it yesterday but threw up the water. This morning she's saying she is having a hard time drinking. Is there another way they can examine her abdomen?
Submitted:
4 Days
Category:
Family Physician-GP
Hello. Thank you for posting your query at DoctorSpring.com
I understand your concern.
I need a few more details before i can help you. Why was your mother admitted? Was that the first episode of vomiting your mother had? Does she have any chronic problems like Systemic Hypertension or Diabetes Mellitus? What medication is she on? If you can give me all these details i can guide you further.
Even without ultrasound, just a normal physical examination will reveal a lot of problems. So if there was anything serious doctor would have advised CT SCAN right away. Without drinking ultrasound is definitely not possible. Please do not worry. Once you answer the above questions, i can guide you further,
Regards
She was admitted because she has multiple pulmonary embolism. The doctor is trying to determine the cause. She did drink and they did do the ultrasound. Now, the doctor would like to determine if she has blood in her stool and if so, send her for a colonoscopy.
Hello. Thank you for writing to us again.
It can be due to a lot of causes like DVT, prolonged immobilization, heart diseases, in case of obesity, prolonged usage of contraceptive pills earlier, e.t.c
However the good thing is it got diagnosed early and it can be managed with heparin and other anti coagulants.
Please do not worry. Keep us updated, once her reports come. Get an ECG done, CXR, if possible upload the USG abdomen report. If he source is DVT, the doctor can order further Doppler of the lower limb.
Feel free to discuss further,
Regards
As I mentioned, the doctor would like a stool sample to test for blood and if found a colonoscopy to test for cancer. Is cancer also a possibility to lead to multiple pulmonary embolism? When my mom went to the emergency on Thursday, she was complaining her legs were weak.
Sorry, I don't have any files I can really share with you as you mentioned in your previous answer.
Hello.
Its alright if you do not have the files, don't worry.
Cancer is a possibility for multiple pulmonary embolism because cancer often have a hypercoagulable( increased ability to clot) state due to the production of substances with procoagulant activity. This leads to DVT - deep vein thrombosis(clotting) first. However, this is quite rare. Pulmonary embolism has more common causes such as prolonged immobilisation etc. Weakness of legs could be due to the resultant decrease in blood flow to the legs which is a consequence of the multiple pulmonary embolism.
I would advise you not to worry about cancer because your doctor is only advising screening for colon cancer as part of the workup. This does not mean that your mother has cancer.
Regards.