Discussion Forum Module 5

The patient, an elderly man, had an acute onset of swelling, erythema, and tenderness in the left anterior neck. He was admitted for evaluation and IV antibiotic therapy with a provisional diagnosis of thyroiditis and cellulitis. The radiological finding showed a large, mixed density, soft tissue mass in the left lower neck compatible with cellulitis. The mass appeared to involve the soft tissue of the neck and the thyroid gland. He shows the typical clinical picture of hyperthyroidism. His infection responded well to antibiotic therapy.

Discharge Diagnosis:

(1)Cellulitis (2) Possible abscess (3) Hyperthyroidism

Identify as many medical terms and abbreviations as you can from the passage above and rewrite the passage using your own words.

Discussion Forum Module 5 Answer

The elderly male patient presents symptoms marked by swelling, erythema or redness of skin due to inflammation, and tenderness of the left anterior neck.  The patient was admitted for evaluation and an IV antibiotic therapy was initiated following an initial diagnosis of thyroiditis or the inflammation or swelling of the thyroid gland and cellulitis, a bacterial skin infection that causes the inflammation of the cells on the affected area. Based on CT scan results (radiologic findings), it shows a large, mixed density soft tissue mass in the left lower neck, which is compatible with the initial diagnosis of cellulitis or the inflammation of cells found in patient’s neck