Archives

Eight-year-old Boy with New-onset Seizure

Rosenblatt, MD, et al.

An eight-year-old boy presented to the emergency department for a first-time seizure. The patient had only signs of mild dehydration on physical exam and had an uneventful postictal recovery. First-time seizures in pediatric patients are often benign and require only an outpatient workup; some are dangerous.

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Code Blue: Life-threatening Methemoglobinemia

Ponce Ríos, MD, et al.

One of the more common and well-described causes in the literature is exposure to topical benzocaine during medical procedures. We present a case series of acute acquired methemoglobinemia from a food source that has not been previously described in the literature: a dessert.

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A Desquamating Skin Rash in a Pediatric Patient

Haggerty, DO, et al.

This is a case of a three-year-old female who presented with significant dehydration in the setting of a desquamating skin rash diagnosed in our emergency department as staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome.

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Perilymphatic Fistula After Penetrating Ear Trauma

Kita, MD, et al.

We describe a case in which a 49-year-old male presented with a traumatic PLF secondary to penetrating ear injury. Imaging demonstrated extensive pneumolabyrinth. Despite delay in diagnosis, expeditious surgical intervention resulted in successful preservation of inner ear function.

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De Garengeot Hernia Diagnosed with Point-of-care Ultrasound

Jennings, MD, MPH, et al.

De Garengeot hernias, defined as a femoral hernia containing the appendix, are rare. It is even uncommon to have an incarcerated de Garengeot hernia with associated acute appendicitis. We report a case of a 76-year-old female presenting to the emergency department for a right lower quadrant abdominal mass for four days.

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Emergency Physician Reduction of Pediatric Hip Dislocation

Capehart, BA, et al.

Traumatic hip dislocation in children is relatively rare but presents a true emergency, as a delay in reduction can result in avascular necrosis of the femoral head and long-term morbidity. After sustaining a traumatic posterolateral hip dislocation, a seven-year-old boy presented to an outside facility where no attempt was made at reduction.

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Evans Syndrome

Al Hazmi, MBBS, et al.

A 22-year-old man presented to the emergency department with facial swelling, rash, and fatigue. He had a past medical history of pericarditis and pericardial effusion. His evaluation showed anemia and thrombocytopenia.

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Ruptured Visceral Artery Aneurysms: A Deadly Cause of Epigastric Pain

Bradley, BS, et al.

This case describes splenic and celiac artery aneurysms in a patient that led to hemorrhagic shock and multisystem organ failure despite timely diagnosis and ligation. A brief review of the literature further elucidates the key risk factors in identifying patients with VAAs and their treatment course.

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Apparent Pacer Spikes in a Patient with Back and Chest Pain

Lulla, MD, et al.

A 74-year-old female with a history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, atrial fibrillation (on warfarin, diltiazem and metoprolol) presented with chest and back pain. A 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) was ordered at triage demonstrating possible aberrant pacemaker activity (Image 1).

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Atypical Fungal Rash

Adel, MD, et al.

A 73-year-old man with rheumatoid arthritis on prednisone (10 milligrams [mg] daily routinely, and increased to 40 mg daily during frequent exacerbations) presented to the emergency department with chills and a leg rash.

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A Man with Severe Right Knee Pain

Takeda, MD, et al.

A 29-year-old man with no significant medical history presented to the emergency department with severe pain, swelling, and inability to move his right knee.

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The Aquarium Sign: Another Opportunity for Detection of Perforated Viscus

Gorgone, DO, et al.

A 61-year-old male with history of alcohol abuse and presumed cirrhosis presented to the emergency department with generalized weakness and right facial droop. He was found to be profoundly hypotensive and hypothermic with subsequent rapid decompensation requiring intubation and continuous norepinephrine infusion.

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Identifying a Disc-shaped Foreign Body

Lee, MD, et al.

A four-year-old girl presented to the emergency department vomiting after a foreign body ingestion. An anteroposterior plain radiograph demonstrated a disc-shaped foreign body.

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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.