The night after the USMLE Step 3

My fellow resident Annie called me in the morning to tell me she was taking a sick day. She related that she had been stricken by the nephrotic syndrome, a most mysterious disease. It consists largely of a triad of symptoms: body swelling (edema), low albumin levels, and lots of protein excreted in the urine.

My first thought was "Wow! What a rapid onset of the nephrotic syndrome!" Annie then told me that she'd be resting, lying around the house, and would try to be in the next day.

I got off the phone, and then realized that I should call her back immediately. The enigmatic nephrotic syndrome, for reasons unknown, can make one hypercoagulable, and I became quite worried that if she sat around the house for too long, she could develop a blood clot.