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Chest Swelling and Fever in an Intravenous Drug User

This case report describes a sternoclavicular infection in an IV drug user. The history and physical exam suggested an abscess. In the emergency department (ED) the patient refused incision and drainage but did consent to simple needle aspiration. Subsequent culture of the aspirate revealed Pseudomonas aeruginosa. He was admitted for IV antibiotics. After admission, a bone scan suggested the presence of osteomyelitis. The patient refused operative débridement, but ultimately did consent to bedside incision and drainage. By day five, the fever had resolved and the patient signed out AMA. He was given a prescription for Ciprofloxacin. The patient had an unscheduled follow up in the ED five months later for an unrelated heroin overdose. Physical examination demonstrated complete resolution of the infection.

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

CPC-EM
ISSN: 2474-252X

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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.