Archives

Ultrasound-guided Intraarticular Hip Injection for Osteoarthritis Pain in the Emergency Department

Author Affiliation Erik S. Anderson, MD  Alameda County Medical Center, Highland Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, Oakland, California Andrew A. Herring, MD  Alameda County Medical Center, Highland Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, Oakland, California Caitlin Bailey, MD  Alameda County Medical Center, Highland Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, Oakland, California Daniel Mantuani, MD  Alameda County Medical […]

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Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt (TIPS) Migration to the Heart Diagnosed by ED Ultrasound

A 57-year-old man presented to our emergency department with altered mental status. He had a past medical history significant for cirrhosis and previous placement of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). On cardiac auscultation, a new heart murmur and an unexpected degree of cardiac ectopy were noted. On the 12-lead electrocardiogram, the patient was…

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Sonographic Consensual Pupillary Reflex

Patients suffering from severe orbital trauma are at risk for numerous complications, including orbital compartment syndromes. This can result in an afferent pupillary defect, which must be evaluated for on physical examination. Unfortunately, these at-risk patients are often challenging to examine properly due to surrounding edema. Point-of-care ultrasonography can be used as an adjunct to the standard examination in this situation.

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Bladder Bulge: Unifying Old and New Sonographic Bladder Wall Abnormalities in Ureterolithiasis

Approximately 1% of all emergency department (ED) visits are for treatment of urinary tract stone disease (renal colic, kidney stones, urolithiasis). Renal colic is a common condition affecting approximately 7–13% of the population during their lifetime and those who are afflicted are likely to have recurrent attacks throughout their lives. Through the following case series, we present sonographic bladder wall findings in patients with renal colic.

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Ultrasound Diagnosis of Urethral Calculi

A 35-year-old man presented to the emergency department (ED) for acute urinary retention and penile pain for 4 hours. The patient denied any significant medical history or history of trauma. Physical exam revealed testicles that were nontender, without masses. However,…

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Quantitative Brain Electrical Activity in the Initial Screening of Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries

Introduction: The incidence of emergency department (ED) visits for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in the United States exceeds 1,000,000 cases/year with the vast majority classified as mild (mTBI). Using existing computed tomography (CT) decision rules for selecting patients to be referred for CT, such as the New Orleans Criteria (NOC), approximately 70% of those scanned are found to have a negative CT. This study investigates the use of quantified brain electrical activity to assess its possible role in the initial screening of ED mTBI patients as compared to NOC.

Conclusion: The hand-held EEG device with a limited frontal montage is applicable to the ED environment and its performance was superior to that obtained using the New Orleans criteria. This study suggests a possible role for an index of brain function based on EEG to aid in the acute assessment of mTBI patients.

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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.