Author Affiliation Debayan Guha, MD Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine at the Jacobi and Montefiore Medical Centers, Bronx, New York Franz C. Mendoza-Garcia, MD Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine at the Jacobi and Montefiore Medical Centers, Bronx, New York Kathryn M. Millen, MD Albert Einstein College of […]
Author Affiliation Nicholas Valentini, MD University of Michigan, Department of Emergency Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan Madison Breeden, MD University of Michigan, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Ann Arbor, Michigan Laura E. Felley, MD, PhD University of Michigan, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Ann Arbor, Michigan Nathan B. Roberts, MD, […]
Author Affiliation Jonathan Henry Brewer, MD Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, Division of Emergency Ultrasound, Nashville, Tennessee Noah Sanders, MD Highland Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, Oakland, California Alexander Ayala, MD Highland Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, Oakland, California Arun Nagdev, MD Highland Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, Oakland, California Introduction Technique […]
Author Affiliation Bryan P. McNeilly, MD University of Maryland Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland Dominic M. Williams, DO CarolinaEast Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, New Bern, North Carolina Laura J. Bontempo, MD, MEd University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland J. David Gatz, MD University of […]
Author Affiliation Shantal Tummings, BS Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Laboratory for Innovations in Medical Education, Loma Linda, California Sierra Garrett, BS Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Laboratory for Innovations in Medical Education, Loma Linda, California Ja’Neil G. Humphrey, BS Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Laboratory for Innovations in Medical Education, Loma […]
A 92-year-old female with past medical history of hypertension presented to the emergency department with pain in her right shoulder, right flank, and right upper quadrant of her abdomen. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) and computed tomography imaging showed concerns for multiple large hepatic abscesses. Percutaneous drainage removed 240 millileters of purulent fluid that identified Fusobacterium nucleatum, a rare cause of pyogenic liver abscess.
A 22-year-old female presented to the emergency department with a dilated right pupil and mild blurry vision. Physical examination revealed a dilated, sluggishly reactive right pupil, without other ophthalmic or neurologic abnormalities. Neuroimaging was normal. The patient was diagnosed with unilateral benign episodic mydriasis (BEM).
This is a case report of an implanted penile prosthetic visualized during focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) examination. The case represents a unique finding near the lateral bladder that may confound assessment of intraperitoneal fluid collections during initial assessment of trauma patients.
Late atrial arrhythmias after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation occur in up to 30% of post-ablation patients and are increasingly encountered by emergency physicians. However, diagnosing the exact mechanism of the arrhythmia on the surface electrocardiogram (ECG) remains challenging due to atrial scarring leading to heterogeneous P-wave morphology.
Neuropathy of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, also known as meralgia paresthetica, causes pain and paresthesia to the anterolateral thigh. It commonly results from nerve irritation from extrinsic compression; however, it may occur spontaneously. Symptoms from this condition can be debilitating, and the pain may be ascribed to other conditions leading to delays in diagnosis. Peripheral nerve blockade can be useful both diagnostically and therapeutically for meralgia paresthetica.
We describe a case of left internal jugular central venous access with rare malpositioning into the internal mammary vein. Despite various confirmatory measures at the time of placement including ultrasonography of the internal jugular vein, as well as blood gas analysis consistent with venous blood by oxygen saturation and good venous flow in all three ports of the catheter, subsequent imaging confirmed misplacement into the internal mammary vein.
A 72-year-old female presented to the emergency department (ED) with exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure. The patient required intubation for airway protection and hypercapnic respiratory failure. The ED team used a video laryngoscope, Macintosh 3 blade and bougie as the endotracheal tube delivery device. Despite a grade 2a Cormack-Lehane airway view, the bougie repeatedly missed left posterolateral to the airway. During these missed attempts, the emergency medicine (EM) resident’s shoulder was noted to be abducted. The EM resident then readjusted his technique by adducting the shoulder. which allowed the tip of the bougie to pass the vocal cords resulting in successful intubation.
Acute traumatic limb injury is a common complaint of patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). Ketamine is an effective analgesic administered via intravenous (IV), intranasal (IN), intramuscular (IM), and nebulized routes in the ED. It has also been used in the prehospital setting via IV, IM, and IN routes. Recent studies have proposed the prehospital use of nebulized ketamine via breath-actuated nebulizer (BAN) as a noninvasive and effective method of analgesic delivery, as well as an alternative to opioid analgesia.
An acute subdural hematoma is a collection of blood in the space between the dural and arachnoid membranes overlying the brain. Head trauma is the most common cause. Less frequently, low cerebrospinal fluid pressure, due to a spontaneous or iatrogenic cerebrospinal fluid leak can result in a subdural hematoma.
The Portuguese man o’ war, an aquatic invertebrate, is responsible for a large proportion of cnidarian stings worldwide. Cnidaria is a phylum that contains the genus Physalia. These injuries result in severe pain and skin irritation, which are often difficult to control. Traditionally, cnidarian stings have been treated by emergency physicians with warm water, vinegar and, in severe cases, opioids. However, no concrete guidelines have been established for pain management in man o’ war stings.
Popliteal artery aneurysms are in most cases asymptomatic but cause significant complications if ruptured. An acute popliteal aneurysm rupture is relatively rare, and few cases have been documented secondary to blunt trauma. Common presenting signs and symptoms include distal limb ischemia and absent dorsalis pedis pulses. Timely management and recognition of this rare presentation are crucial as this condition can result in limb loss or death if not treated in a timely manner.
Intramuscular administration of vaccines into the deltoid muscle is the recommended route for most vaccines in adults. Ectopic injection into the subdeltoid/subacromial bursa can produce an inflammatory bursitis that is associated with significant long-term morbidity.
Emergency department (ED) crowding and hospital diversion times are increasing nationwide, with negative effects on patient safety and an association with increased mortality. Crowding in referral centers makes transfer of complex or critical patients by rural emergency physicians (EP) more complicated and difficult. We present a case requiring an unorthodox transfer method to navigate extensive hospital diversion and obtain life-saving neurosurgical care.
Citrullinemia type 1 (CTLN1) is a urea cycle disorder caused by defective argininosuccinate synthetase leading to impaired ammonia elimination. Urea cycle disorders are typically diagnosed on neonatal screening but rarely can lie dormant until a metabolic stressor causes initial onset of symptoms in adulthood.
In reporting this case of a patient with spontaneous iliac vein rupture, we highlight the importance of maintaining a high clinical suspicion of this vascular emergency in the at-risk patient.
Ectopic pregnancy is the most common cause of maternal mortality in the first trimester.1 Bilateral tubal pregnancy is the rarest subset with an estimated incidence of one in 725 to 1,580 ectopic pregnancies.2 Of the cases of bilateral tubal pregnancy reported in the literature, most were associated with the use of assisted reproductive techniques.3 Here we present the case of a patient, without a prior history of reproductive technology use, who underwent treatment for a tubal pregnancy and was subsequently found to have a second, contralateral tubal pregnancy 11 days later.
Longus colli calcific tendonitis (LCCT) is a calcium deposition disease that causes acute or subacute atraumatic neck pain. It is important for the emergency physician to consider LCCT in the differential diagnosis because the clinical presentation of this benign condition may mimic life-threatening disease processes that require invasive diagnostic measures.
A 45-year-old male presented to the emergency department (ED) with bilateral lower extremity pain, swelling, and associated atypical rash in the setting of polysubstance use and unstable housing. Laboratory tests showed an elevated white blood cell count and inflammatory markers.
A 22-year-old male with no known past medical history presented to our emergency department complaining of difficulty breathing. A plain film chest radiograph revealed findings consistent with a tension pneumothorax.
A 75-year-old man with a history of asbestosis presented to the emergency department with sudden-onset dyspnea and hemoptysis, triggered by coughing. The patient was hemodynamically unstable and in respiratory distress. Computed tomography revealed a massive hemothorax on the left side and compression of the descending thoracic aorta. He underwent emergency surgical exploration after decompression by chest tube insertion. The hemothorax was caused by tears in the pleural adhesions due to asbestosis and induced by coughing.
