she vomited blood earlier that evening and then collapsed
Mrs Brown, a 70-year-old lady, arrives in your A&E by ambulance on a Saturday night along with her son. He tells you she vomited blood earlier that evening and then collapsed. You are the F2 on call, identify the cause of her haematemesis and form a management plan.
Mrs Brown is currently lying on a bed in A&E, alert and orientated.
History
Presenting complaint
“Well I’d not been feeling well all evening, then I was watching the TV when I started feeling sick and dizzy, so I went to the bathroom and threw up everywhere. When I saw that it was just blood I was terrified!. I yelled for my son, got up to get to him but then I started feeling even dizzier and next thing I knew I was on the floor and my son was beside me calling an ambulance”
What questions might be useful to elicit further details surrounding the presenting complaint?
What else might be useful to gain further details about the haematemesis and collapse?