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Short answer question case series: a case of upper extremity oedema
  1. Ekaterina Tzvetkova,
  2. Timothy Jang
  1. Department of Emergency Medicine, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Timothy Jang, Department of Emergency Medicine, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, 1000 W. Carson St., Torrance, CA 90509, USA; tbj{at}ucla.edu

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2013-203563

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    Case vignette

    A right-handed man without past medical history presents with right upper extremity oedema for 4 days. He does not endorse any history of trauma, but was weight lifting and trampoline jumping 2 days prior to symptom development (see figures 1⇓⇓–4).

    Figure 1

    Picture of the right and left forearms.

    Figure 2

    Picture of right arm with mid-bicep measurement.

    Figure 3

    Picture of the left arm with mid-bicep measurement.

    Figure 4

    Picture of right arm and shoulder.

    Key questions

    1. Which visual findings are of notable concern?

    2. What are other important considerations on history?

    3. How should this patient be evaluated?

    4. How should this patient be treated?

    5. What should this patient's disposition be?

      • Figure 1 depicts the forearms. The right arm is erythematous and oedematous compared with the left. Figures 2 and 3 depict the mid-bicep arm circumferences. The right arm is 7.5 cm larger than the left. Figure 4 demonstrates some mottling and discolouration of the right arm, extending proximally to the deltoid. These findings …

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors Both the authors contributed to the write up of this case.

    • Competing interests None.

    • Patient consent The patient consented to photography for publication and education.

    • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.