A 55-year-old woman arrives at the emergency room complaining of nausea, fever, fatigue, and anorexia. She returned from a trip to Mexico a week ago, where she underwent an emergency cholecystectomy with no complications. Her temperature is 38.3 ° C. (101 degrees F), her blood pressure is 100/60 mm Hg, her pulse is 90 bpm, and her respirations are 12 /minute. The patient is awake and responding to questions, but she appears extremely weak and slightly icteric. She has no other medical issues and does not take any medications. She does not smoke, drink, or use illegal drugs. The patient is taken to the hospital, but her condition deteriorates and she dies two days later. Viral serologies performed after death are negative. The image below depicts a gross examination of the liver during an autopsy. Which of the following additional findings would have most likely been found in this patient?

Question

A 55-year-old woman arrives at the emergency room complaining of nausea, fever, fatigue, and anorexia. She returned from a trip to Mexico a week ago, where she underwent an emergency cholecystectomy with no complications. Her temperature is 38.3 ° C. (101 degrees F), her blood pressure is 100/60 mm Hg, her pulse is 90 bpm, and her respirations are 12 /minute. The patient is awake and responding to questions, but she appears extremely weak and slightly icteric. She has no other medical issues and does not take any medications. She does not smoke, drink, or use illegal drugs. The patient is taken to the hospital, but her condition deteriorates and she dies two days later. Viral serologies performed after death are negative. The image below depicts a gross examination of the liver during an autopsy.  Which of the following additional findings would have most likely been found in this patient?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eductional Objective: Inhaled anesthetics, such as halothane, can cause a deadly fulminant hepatitis that cannot be distinguished histologically from acute viral hepatitis. Patients have significantly elevated aminotransferase levels as a result of massive hepatocellular injury, as well as a prolonged prothrombin time as a result of hepatic synthetic function failure.

A 55-Year-Old Woman Arrives at the Emergency Room Complaining of Nausea