Also known as: Undernourishment
Elena is on a 41-day hunger strike to prevent her son's deportation. She becomes severely malnourished, dehydrated, and develops life-threatening hyponatremia leading to seizures. Her condition drives the central ethical conflict about respecting patient autonomy versus duty to preserve life.
Also known as: Low sodium
Elena's water-only intake during her hunger strike causes dangerously low serum sodium, resulting in seizures. This medical emergency creates the episode's climactic moment where staff must decide whether to intervene against her wishes.
Also known as: Cold exposure
Elena presents with hypothermia after collapsing at the immigration building during her hunger strike, prompting her initial ER admission.
Also known as: Broken facial bones
Elderly woman presents with facial fracture allegedly from a mugging, but suspected to be elder abuse by her sister. Part of a subplot about vulnerable elderly patients.
Also known as: Collapsed lung
Uninsured woman who fell down stairs presents with decreased breath sounds requiring chest tube placement. She refuses treatment due to fears about cancer spreading with surgery.
Also known as: Dislocated hip
Posterior hip dislocation from fall down stairs, reduced using the Whistler technique. This injury leads to discovery of her underlying cancer.
Also known as: Breast cancer spread to kidney
Uninsured woman has a 5cm breast mass she ignored for 2 years, now with bone metastases causing rib fractures and hypercalcemia. She refuses biopsy and surgery due to cultural beliefs that cutting into cancer causes it to spread. Her case illustrates barriers to care and medical mistrust.
Also known as: High calcium levels
Elevated calcium level (12.4) discovered during workup, caused by her metastatic breast cancer affecting the bones.
Also known as: Dislocated eyeball
Patient develops subluxed globe (eyeball displaced out of socket) during eye pressure measurement, requiring emergent reduction using a paper clip as a makeshift retractor.
Also known as: Overactive thyroid
Patient with overactive thyroid requiring beta-blockers and eye pressure check due to glaucoma risk, during which the subluxed globe occurs.
Also known as: Asthma attack
Patient with asthma being transferred to ICU mentioned during morning sign-out as a teaching case for arterial line placement.