A 41-year-old male patient presents at the community walk-in clinic with complaints of severe elbow pain radiating into the forearm. His 13-year-old daughter is serving as a translator because her father cannot speak English and understands only a few words in English. The daughter explains that he has been taking Tylenol® to manage pain, but the pain is getting worse and is keeping him from working. You ask the daughter to describe the type of work her father does, and you notice she is hesitant to respond, first checking with her father. He responds, and she translates that he works in construction. Based on the response and the apparent concern, you suspect that the patient may be an undocumented worker. Further conversation reveals that several family members are working with the same local construction company.
Please post your responses to the following questions in the Unit 9 Discussion Board.
Case Questions
- You suspect the pain reported as coming from the elbow and radiating down the forearm is caused by repetitive motions perhaps indicating lateral epicondylitis. What can you do to confirm this diagnosis?
- While performing the physical examination you ask the patient through his daughter if he has reported this injury to his employer because the injury is most likely work-related. The daughter responded without consulting her father that this is an old injury that happened before he started working at his current place of employment. You could tell that she was becoming more distressed. What is the most likely explanation for her concern?
- Visual inspection reveals erythema around the affected area with no evidence of overlying skin lesions scars or deformities. What other assessments should you perform?
- What would be the differential diagnoses? The main diagnosis? How is this condition treated?