Archives

A Brush with Danger

Hirsch, MD, et al.

A five-year-old male presented to the emergency department (ED) after falling off a stool while brushing his teeth, resulting in a penetrating oropharyngeal injury.

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Point-of-care Cranial Ultrasound in a Hemicraniectomy Patient

Sarwal, MD, et al.

A 74-year-old male presented to the emergency department with right-sided weakness and confusion and was found to have a left parietal intraparenchymal hemorrhage with cerebral edema and left-to-right midline shift on non-contrast computed tomography (CT) of the head.

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A Case of Necrotic Skin Lesions on the Abdomen

Christians, DO, et al.

A 42-year-old female with a history of type II diabetes, partial left nephrectomy, and fibromyalgia was transferred from an outside hospital for concerns of a painful rash on her abdomen and flanks.

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Blinking Bug Bite

Miller, MD, et al.

A three-year-old female presented to a community emergency department with a one-day pruritic rash on her knee.

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This Rash Puts You in the ICU

Skaggs, MD, et al.

A 33-year-old female with a history of psoriasis presented to the emergency department with a diffuse, pruritic skin rash that had been progressive for two days.

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Patient with a Subarachnoid Headache

Montemayor, MEd, et al.

We report a risk management case of a patient with a missed SAH resulting in a fatal outcome. When there are multiple diagnostic strategies, the patient may be involved with shared decision-making. Some of the medical and legal implications of the diagnosis of SAH will be discussed.

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An 18-Year-old Prisoner with Abdominal Pain

Windsor, MD, et al.

An 18-year-old male presented to the emergency department (ED) with a complaint of severe abdominal pain for three days along with painful urination, vomiting, diarrhea and subjective fever and chills.

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Blunt Traumatic Cervical Vascular Injury Without any Modified Denver Criteria

Ritter, MD, et al.

Blunt traumatic cervical vascular injury (BCVI) is challenging to recognize, but it is a potentially devastating entity that warrants attention from emergency physicians. Injury to the vertebral or carotid artery can result in a delayed manifestation of neurologic injury that may be preventable if promptly recognized and treated.

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Methemoglobinemia Induced By Ingesting Lava Lamp Contents

Funke, MD, et al.

A patient presented after ingesting the contents of a lava lamp that he believed to contain alcohol. It was later discovered that this product was comprised of 76% calcium nitrate, leading to his subsequent development of methemoglobinemia. This disease is a medical emergency secondary to poor transportation of oxygen and resultant tissue hypoxic effects.

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Stump Appendicitis

Essenmacher, MD, et al.

Patients with a history of appendectomy may experience recurrent right lower quadrant abdominal pain from an infrequently encountered complication that may occur when the residual appendix becomes obstructed and inflamed.

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Spontaneous Diaphragmatic Hernia

Darocki, DO, et al.

spontaneous diaphragmatic hernia (SDH) occurs when intra-abdominal contents extend into the thoracic cavity through a defect in the diaphragm after a sudden increase in intra-abdominal pressure. SDH is one of the rarest surgical emergencies with less than 30 reported cases in the literature.1,2 In our case a 94-year-old female presented to the emergency department in respiratory distress with unilateral breath sounds and was diagnosed with a SDH.

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Nutritional Rickets Presenting as Chronic Episodic Extremity Pain in a 9-year-old with Autism

Tripathi, BA, et al.

We describe the case of a nine-year-old girl with autism and developmental delay who was evaluated for chronic intermittent extremity pain for more than one year prior to referral to the emergency department for hypocalcemia and increased alkaline phosphatase, which eventually led to the diagnosis of rickets confirmed by radiographic and laboratory findings.

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Contact Information

WestJEM/ Department of Emergency Medicine
UC Irvine Health

3800 W Chapman Ave Ste 3200
Orange, CA 92868, USA
Phone: 1-714-456-6389
Email: editor@westjem.org

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WestJEM
ISSN: 1936-900X
e-ISSN: 1936-9018

CPC-EM
ISSN: 2474-252X

Our Philosophy

Emergency Medicine is a specialty which closely reflects societal challenges and consequences of public policy decisions. The emergency department specifically deals with social injustice, health and economic disparities, violence, substance abuse, and disaster preparedness and response. This journal focuses on how emergency care affects the health of the community and population, and conversely, how these societal challenges affect the composition of the patient population who seek care in the emergency department. The development of better systems to provide emergency care, including technology solutions, is critical to enhancing population health.