DIALOGUE

[doctor] hi , andrew , how are you ?
[patient] hi . good to see you .
[doctor] it's good to see you as well . so i know that the nurse told you about dax . i'd like to tell dax a little bit about you .
[patient] sure .
[doctor] okay ? so , andrew is a 62-year-old male with a past medical history significant for a kidney transplant , hypothyroidism , and arthritis , who presents today with complaints of joint pain . andrew , what's going on with your joint ? what happened ?
[patient] uh , so , over the the weekend , we've been moving boxes up and down our basements stairs , and by the end of the day my knees were just killing me .
[doctor] okay . is , is one knee worse than the other ?
[patient] equally painful .
[doctor] okay .
[patient] both of them .
[doctor] and did you , did you injure one of them ?
[patient] um , uh , i've had some knee problems in the past but i think it was just the repetition and the weight of the boxes .
[doctor] okay . all right . and , and what have you taken for the pain ?
[patient] a little tylenol . i iced them for a bit . nothing really seemed to help , though .
[doctor] okay . all right . um , and does it prevent you from doing , like , your activities of daily living , like walking and exercising and things like that ?
[patient] uh , saturday night it actually kept me up for a bit . they were pretty sore .
[doctor] mm-hmm . okay . and any other symptoms like fever or chills ?
[patient] no .
[doctor] joint pain ... i mean , like muscle aches ?
[patient] no .
[doctor] nausea , vomiting , diarrhea ?
[patient] no .
[doctor] anything like that ?
[patient] no .
[doctor] okay . all right . now , i know that you've had the kidney transplant a few years ago for some polycystic kidneys .
[patient] mm-hmm .
[doctor] um , how are you doing with that ? i know that you told dr. gutierrez-
[patient] mm .
[doctor] . a couple of weeks ago .
[patient] yes .
[doctor] everything's okay ?
[patient] so far , so good .
[doctor] all right . and you're taking your immunosuppressive medications ?
[patient] yes , i am .
[doctor] okay . all right . um , and did they have anything to say ? i have n't gotten any reports from them , so ...
[patient] no , n- nothing out of the ordinary , from what they reported .
[doctor] okay . all right . um , and in terms of your hyperthyroidism , how are you doing with the synthroid ? are you doing okay ?
[patient] uh , yes , i am .
[doctor] you're taking it regularly ?
[patient] on the clock , yes .
[doctor] yes . okay . and any fatigue ? weight gain ? anything like that that you've noticed ?
[patient] no , nothing out of the ordinary .
[doctor] okay . and just in general , you know , i know that we've kind of battled with your arthritis .
[patient] mm-hmm .
[doctor] you know , it's hard because you ca n't take certain medications 'cause of your kidney transplant .
[patient] sure .
[doctor] so other than your knees , any other joint pain or anything like that ?
[patient] every once in a while , my elbow , but nothing , nothing out of the ordinary .
[doctor] okay . all right . now i know the nurse did a review of systems sheet when you checked in . any other symptoms i might have missed ?
[patient] no .
[doctor] no headaches ?
[patient] no headaches .
[doctor] anything like that w- ... okay . all right . well , i wan na go ahead and do a quick physical exam , all right ? hey , dragon , show me the vital signs . so here in the office , your vital signs look good . you do n't have a fever , which is good .
[patient] mm-hmm .
[doctor] your heart rate and your , uh , blood pressure look fine . i'm just gon na check some things out , and i'll let you know what i find , okay ?
[patient] perfect .
[doctor] all right . does that hurt ?
[patient] a little bit . that's tender .
[doctor] okay , so on physical examination , on your heart exam , i do appreciate a little two out of six systolic ejection murmur-
[patient] mm-hmm .
[doctor] . which we've heard in the past . okay , so that seems stable . on your knee exam , there is some edema and some erythema of your right knee , but your left knee looks fine , okay ? um , you do have some pain to palpation of the right knee and some decreased range of motion , um , on exam , okay ? so what does that mean ? so we'll go ahead and we'll see if we can take a look at some of these things . i know that they did an x-ray before you came in , okay ?
[patient] mm-hmm .
[doctor] so let's take a look at that .
[patient] sure .
[doctor] hey , dragon , show me the right knee x-ray . so here's the r- here's your right knee x-ray . this basically shows that there's good bony alignment . there's no acute fracture , which is not surprising , based on the history .
[patient] mm-hmm .
[doctor] okay ? hey , dragon , show me the labs . and here , looking at your lab results , you know , your white blood cell count is not elevated , which is good . you know , we get concerned about that in somebody who's immunocompromised .
[patient] mm-hmm .
[doctor] and it looks like your kidney function is also very good . so i'm , i'm very happy about that .
[patient] yeah .
[doctor] okay ? so i just wan na go over a little bit about my assessment and my plan for you .
[patient] mm-hmm .
[doctor] so for your knee pain , i think that this is an acute exacerbation of your arthritis , okay ? so i wan na go ahead and if ... and prescribe some ultram 50 milligrams every six hours as needed .
[patient] okay .
[doctor] okay ? i also wan na go ahead and just order an autoimmune panel , okay ? hey , dragon , order an autoimmune panel . and you know , i , i want , i want you to just take it easy for right now , and if your symptoms continue , we'll talk about further imaging and possibly referral to physical therapy , okay ?
[patient] you got it .
[doctor] for your second problem , your hypothyroidism , i wan na go ahead and continue you on this ... on the synthroid , and i wan na go ahead and order some thyroid labs , okay ?
[patient] sure .
[doctor] hey , dragon , order a thyroid panel . and then for your last problem , the arthritis , you know , we just kinda talked about that . you know , it's gon na be a struggle for you because again , you ca n't take some of those anti-inflammatory medications because of your kidney transplant , so ...
[patient] mm-hmm .
[doctor] you know , let's see how we do over the next couple weeks , and again , we'll refer you to physical therapy if we need to , okay ?
[patient] you got it .
[doctor] you have any questions ?
[patient] not at this point .
[doctor] okay . hey , dragon , finalize the note .

CLINICAL NOTE

CHIEF COMPLAINT

Joint pain.

HISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS

Andrew Perez is a 62-year-old male with a past medical history significant for a kidney transplant, hypothyroidism, and arthritis. He presents today with complaints of joint pain.

The patient reports that over the weekend, he was moving boxes up and down the basement stairs. By the end of the day, his knees were very painful. The pain is equal in the bilateral knees. He states that he has had some knee problems in the past, but he believes that it was due to the repetition and the weight of the boxes. He states that the pain does not prevent him from doing his activities of daily living. By the end of the day on Saturday, his knee soreness interrupted his sleep. The patient has taken Tylenol and iced his knees for a short period of time, but nothing really seemed to help.

The patient states that he had a kidney transplant a few years ago for some polycystic kidneys. He notes that he saw Dr. Gutierrez a couple of weeks ago, and everything was normal at that time. The patient continues to utilize his immunosuppressant medications.

Regarding his hypothyroidism, the patient states that he is doing well. He has continued to utilize Synthroid regularly.

In regards to his arthritis, the patient states that occasionally he has pain in his elbow, but nothing out of the ordinary.

He denies any other symptoms such as fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, and weight loss.

REVIEW OF SYSTEMS

 Constitutional: Denies fevers, chills, or weight loss.
 Musculoskeletal: Denies muscle pain. Endorses joint pain in the bilateral knees.
 Neurological: Denies headaches.

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION

 Cardiovascular: 2/6 systolic ejection murmur, stable.
 Musculoskeletal: There is edema and erythema of the right knee with pain to palpation. Range of motion is decreased. Left knee exam is normal.

RESULTS

X-ray of the right knee is unremarkable. Good bony alignment. No acute fractures.

Labs: Within normal limits. White blood cell count is within normal limits. Kidney function is normal.

ASSESSMENT AND PLAN

Andrew Perez is a 62-year-old male with a past medical history significant for a kidney transplant, hypothyroidism, and arthritis. He presents today with complaints of joint pain.

Arthritis.
 Medical Reasoning: The patient reports increased joint pain in his bilateral knees over the past weekend. Given that his right knee x-ray was unremarkable, I believe this is an acute exacerbation of his arthritis.
 Additional Testing: We will order an autoimmune panel for further evaluation.
 Medical Treatment: Initiate Ultram 50 mg every 6 hours as needed.
 Patient Education and Counseling: I advised the patient to rest his knees. If his symptoms persist, we can consider further imaging and possibly a referral to physical therapy.

Hypothyroidism.
 Medical Reasoning: The patient is doing well on Synthroid and is asymptomatic at this time.
 Additional Testing: We will order a thyroid panel.
 Medical Treatment: Continue Synthroid.

Status post renal transplant.
 Medical Reasoning: He is doing well and has been compliant with his immunosuppressive medications. On recent labs, his white blood cell count was within a normal limits and his kidney function is stable.
 Medical Treatment: Continue current regimen.

Patient Agreements: The patient understands and agrees with the recommended medical treatment plan.