The incidence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) has recently decreased across much of the United States, and we seek to describe risk factors for CO-MRSA bacteremia, which will aid emergency providers in their choice of empiric antibiotics
Pertussis, commonly referred to as “whooping cough,” is a highly contagious acute respiratory infection that has exhibited cyclical outbreaks throughout the last century. Although vaccines have provided some immunity, many populations, including infants and pregnant women, remain at risk for serious illness.
Little is known about emergency department (ED) utilization for herpes simplex viruses (HSV) types 1 and 2 in the United States. Our goal was to determine the utilization and cost burden associated with HSV infection visits to U.S. EDs in recent years from 2006–2013.
Volume 17, Issue 3, May 2016
Elizabeth Burner, MD et al.
Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a life-threatening infection with high mortality. Because NF can be misdiagnosed as a less lethal mimic, such as cellulitis and abscess, efforts have been made to identify clinical features that could help clinicians accurately diagnose NF and avoid delays to surgical debridement.1 Prior retrospective studies have shown certain laboratory values, particularly an extremely elevated leukocyte count and a low sodium concentration, are associated with NF.2 These abnormal values might help clinicians distinguish NF from less severe soft-tissue infections. The Laboratory Risk Indicator for Necrotizing Fasciitis (LRINEC) score was developed in a large cohort of admitted patients to identify patients at higher risk for NF.3 Patients are assigned a LRINEC score based on serum sodium, glucose, creatinine, c-reactive protein (CRP), leukocyte count and hemoglobin. Scores range from 0 to 13; a score 6 or greater was associated with a high risk of NF, and a score of 8 or greater with a very high risk.
Pleural effusions are a common finding in emergency departments, with cytologic analysis traditionally required for definitive diagnosis. This article describes a classic sonographic appearance of tuberculous pleural effusion.
To alert emergency medicine practitioners that H influenzae should be recognized as a maternal, fetal, and neonatal pathogen. Clinicians should consider this diagnosis in immigrants presenting with uncertain vaccination history, as H influenzae can cause significant morbidity and mortality.
Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a rare and lethal soft tissue infection that requires urgent surgical intervention. It is most often found in the extremities occurring with precipitating trauma or in immunocompromised states. Signs and symptoms are often vague or missing making early diagnosis very difficult. Our patient presented with flank pain and altered mental status but no known precipitating factors. Computed Tomography showed gas within and around the right paraspinous muscle suspicious for NF. Given NF’s high lethality, early suspicion by emergency physicians of NF in patients with soft tissue infections or with systemic findings of unknown etiology is necessary.
To identify factors associated with culture-proven serious bacterial infection (SBI) and positive emergency department septic screening (EDSS) tests in children with bronchiolitis and to identify factors associated with the performance of EDSS.
A 25-year-old healthy Hispanic male agricultural laborer presented to the emergency department with six weeks of a painless raised lesion on the proximal thumb with occasional drainage of fluid, without history of injury.
A 17-year-old male presented to the emergency department with complaints of fever, rash that originated on the abdomen, malaise, and a cough for 10 days prior to evaluation.
A 23-year-old female presented to the emergency department (ED) with a five-day history of sore throat, body aches and 24 hours of throat swelling accompanied by globus sensation and hoarseness.
A previously healthy 14-year-old girl presented to the emergency department with high fever, cough, shortness of breath and right lobar pneumonia on chest radiograph.
Premature infants are at higher risk of developing serious bacterial infections (SBI). However, the incidence of SBI in ex-premature infants presenting to the emergency department (ED) remains undetermined. The objective of this study is to examine the incidence of SBI in ex-premature infants with a postconceptional age of less than 48 weeks presenting to a pediatric ED.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections have grown to epidemic proportions in the United States. With the development of increasing drug resistance of MRSA to traditional antimicrobials, there has been a search for a more effective antibiotic treatment. Linezolid is one of the most effective oral medications used for outpatient treatment of MRSA infections. We present a case of pancytopenia after outpatient treatment with linezolid. Myelosuppression is a rare but serious side effect of linezolid of which emergency physicians need to be aware in order to provide early intervention.
Herpes zoster is a common diagnosis in the emergency department (ED). Caused by the reactivation of the varicellazoster virus (VZV), zoster usually presents as a painful dermatomal rash. In addition to skin or mucosal involvement, VZV reactivation commonly affects the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve and subsequently the eye. This manifestation is termed herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO). HZO is considered an ophthalmologic emergency, as sequelae often include severe chronic pain and vision loss. In order to ensure proper follow up and to minimize morbidity, the accurate and timely diagnosis of HZO in the ED is extremely important. While typically an easy diagnosis to make based on history and skin findings, occasionally HZO presents as an isolated ophthalmologic process that is difficult to distinguish from other more benign causes of a red eye.
This case report describes an atypical presentation of an atypical disease entity: Emphysematous Cystitis, a rapidly progressive, ascending urinary tract infection, in an emergency department (ED) patient whose chief complaint was abdominal pain and who had a urinalysis not consistent with the diagnosis of cystitis.
