A case report on a woman who fell sick after eating a zucchini has highlighted the importance of getting an accurate medical history and the role of nurses in making a diagnosis. A 54-year-old woman with a history of epilepsy was admitted to an emergency department due to suspected gastrointestinal bleeding. She complained of abrupt, severe abdominal pain lasting for 10 hours, accompanied by vomiting and bloody, watery diarrhea.
She denied having consumed unusual food products and had no history of pre-existing medical conditions. During the physical examination, the patient appeared exhausted. Her stool was watery and pinkish.
She was admitted to the intensive care unit with a diagnosis of acute gastroenteritis with dehydration, likely of infectious origin. After treatment, blood pressure normalized but intense abdominal pain persisted, along with pink watery diarrhea. Bitter zucchini clue According to the report, published in the Polish Archives of Internal Medicine , doctors were puzzled by the sudden onset of hemorrhagic diarrhea, accompanied by unusually intense abdominal pain and liver damage, in an otherwise healthy person with a negative epidemiological and drug history.
After retaking the patient’s medical history, doctors found she had not consumed anything unusual except for baked zucchini with bread and took no medications. The nurse looking after the patient suggested the issue could be related to the zucchini. Having spent more time with the woman, she learned.