Problem:
Inpatient. The patient was an elderly woman visiting her physician with complaints of heart palpitations. A routine office evaluation revealed significant anemia. She had not been eating well because she had recently moved from her home of 30 years. After admission to the hospital, a cardiology consultation suggested that the palpitations were probably due to the anemia. During the GI workup, mild gastritis was revealed. After a transfusion of two units of packed red blood cells into the central vein, her hemoglobin returned to normal range. The patient was discharged to the nursing home with prescription for Zantac to control her gastritis.