Volume 16, Issue 4, July 2015
Jonathan Ken, MD, et al.
Hypothenar hammer syndrome (HHS) is a rare condition of distal ulnar artery injury and thrombosis secondary to repetitive blunt trauma to the hypothenar area. We present a case of HHS for which point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) was used as the initial means of imaging, prompting management and disposition without further imaging studies ordered in the emergency department (ED). This case demonstrates the utility of POCUS to aid the Emergency Physician in the diagnosis and management of patients with extremity vascular issues in the ED, and details a rarely seen clinical entity in the ED.
Volume 16, Issue 4, July 2015
Brett Faine, PharmD, et al.
The emergency department (ED) plays a critical role in the management of lifethreatening infection. Prior data suggest that ED vancomycin dosing is frequently inappropriate. The objective is to assess the impact of an electronic medical record (EMR) intervention designed to improve vancomycin dosing accuracy, on vancomycin dosing and clinical outcomes in critically ill ED patients.
Volume 16, Issue 3, May 2015
Jay M. Brenner, MD, et al.
Electroencephalography (EEG) is indicated for diagnosing nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) in a patient who has altered level of consciousness after a motor seizure. A study in a neonatal population found 94% sensitivity and 78% specificity for detection of seizure using a single-lead device. This study aims to show that a reduced montage EEG would detect 90% of seizures detected on standard EEG.
Volume 16, Issue 3, May 2015
Christopher Gelabert, MD, et al.
In patients presenting with severe dyspnea, several diagnostic challenges arise in distinguishing the diagnosis of pneumothorax versus several other pulmonary etiologies like bullous lung disease, pneumonia, interstitial lung disease, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Distinguishing between large pulmonary bullae and pneumothorax is of the utmost importance, as the acute management is very different. While multiple imaging modalities are available, plain radiographs may be inadequate to make the diagnosis and other advanced imaging may be difficult to obtain.
Volume 16, Issue 3, May 2015
Niran Argintaru, MD, et al.
The use of point-of-care ultrasound for the diagnosis of bowel obstructions and hernias is becoming increasingly common in the emergency department (ED). Using a relatively rare case of an incisional port hernia, we demonstrate the ultrasound findings of a strangulated hernia causing a partial small bowel obstruction. A 46-year-old female presented four days following a laparoscopic surgery complaining of abdominal pain, nausea and lack of bowel movements.
Volume 16, Issue 2, March 2015
Cameron Berg, MD et al.
Point-of-care ocular ultrasound (US) is a valuable tool for the evaluation of traumatic ocular injuries. Conventionally, any maneuver that may increase intraocular pressure (IOP) is relatively contraindicated in the setting of globe rupture. Some authors have cautioned against the use of US in these scenarios because of a theoretical concern that an US examination may cause or exacerbate the extrusion of intraocular contents. This study set out to investigate whether ocular US affects IOP. The secondary objective was to validate the intraocular pressure measurements obtained with the Diaton® as compared with standard applanation techniques (the Tono-Pen®).
Volume 16, Issue 2, March 2015
Kevin Padrez, MD et al.
Infectious flexor tenosynovitis (FTS) is a serious infection of the hand and wrist that can lead to necrosis and amputation without prompt diagnosis and surgical debridement. Despite the growing use of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) by emergency physicians there is only one reported case of the use of POCUS for the diagnosis of infectious FTS in the emergency department setting. We present a case of a 58 year-old man where POCUS identified tissue necrosis and fluid along the flexor tendon sheath of the hand. Subsequent surgical pathology confirmed the diagnosis of infectious FTS.
Volume 16, Issue 2, March 2015
Lori A. Stolz, MD et al.
Common carotid flow measurements may be clinically useful to determine volume responsiveness. The objective of this study was to assess the ability of emergency physicians (EP) to obtain sonographic images and measurements of the common carotid artery velocity time integral (VTi) for potential use in assessing volume responsiveness in the clinical setting.
Volume 16, Issue 2, March 2015
Srikar Adhikari, MD, MS et al.
Emergency physician-performed compression ultrasonography focuses primarily on the evaluation of the proximal veins of the lower extremity in patients with suspected deep venous thrombosis (DVT). A detailed sonographic evaluation of lower extremity is not performed. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of non-thrombotic findings on comprehensive lower extremity venous duplex ultrasound (US) examinations performed on emergency department (ED) patients.
Volume 16, Issue 1, January 2015
James F. Kenny, MD et al.
A free-floating right heart thrombus is often a harbinger of a massive pulmonary embolism and must be diagnosed and treated rapidly in order to avoid significant adverse sequelae. We present the case of an 84-year-old female who presented with two days of dyspnea and was hypotensive on arrival.
Volume 16, Issue 1, January 2015
Shawna D. Bellew, MD et al.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac dysrhythmia. Current guidelines recommend obtaining thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in all patients presenting with AF.
Volume 16, Issue 1, January 2015
Richard Amini, MD et al.
This report describes a patient with sub-massive pulmonary embolism (PE) who was successfully treated with half-dose thrombolytics guided by the use of point-of-care (POC) ultrasound. In this case, POC ultrasound was the only possible imaging since computed tomography was contraindicated.
Volume 16, Issue 1, January 2015
Christopher J. Coyne, MD et al.
The American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines recommend rapid door-to-electrocardiography (ECG) times for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Previous quality improvement research at our institution revealed that we were not meeting this benchmark for walk-in STEMI patients.
Volume 16, Issue 1, January 2015
Puneeta Ramachandra, MD et al.
Studies have demonstrated that variables other than duration of symptoms can affect outcomes in children with acute testicular torsion. We examined demographic and logistical factors, including inter-hospital transfer, which may affect outcomes at a tertiary pediatric referral center.
Volume 15, Issue 7, November 2014
Jeffrey L. Wiswell, MD et al.
A 33 year-old female presented to the emergency department (ED) with of two weeks of diffuse abdominal pain, right flank pain, and a slowly enlarging right inguinal mass.
Volume 15, Issue 6, September 2014
Radhika Malhotra, MD et al.
Vaginal bleeding in early pregnancy is a common emergency department complaint. Point-of-care ultrasound is a useful tool to evaluate for intrauterine ectopic pregnancy. Emergency physicians performing these studies need to be cognizant of artifacts produced by ultrasound technology, as they can lead to misdiagnosis. We present two cases where mirror-image artifacts initially led to a concern for heterotopic pregnancies but were excluded on further imaging.
Volume 15, Issue 6, September 2014
Aaron Birch, MD et al.
Superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome is most commonly the insidious result of decreased vascular flow through the SVC due to malignancy, spontaneous thrombus, infections, and iatrogenic etiologies.
Clinical suspicion usually leads to computed tomography to confirm the diagnosis. However, when a patient in respiratory distress requires emergent airway management, travel outside the emergency department is not ideal. With the growing implementation of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), clinicians may make critical diagnoses rapidly and safely. We present a case of SVC syndrome due to extensive thrombosis of the deep venous system cephalad to the SVC diagnosed by POCUS.
Volume 15, Issue 6, September 2014
Michael Butterfield, MD, MS, MPH et al.
A 61 year-old man presented to the Emergency Department for one day of nonspecific chest pain. Bedside echocardiogram performed by the emergency physician revealed normal systolic cardiac function but also showed a large ( > 10mm) bicornuate interatrial septal aneurysm (IASA) projecting into the right atrium (Figure 1, Video 1). There was no evidence of intraatrial thrombus. A formal echocardiogram performed later that day confirmed the diagnosis and also detected a patent foramen ovale (PFO) with a left-to-right shunt that reversed with Valsalva maneuver.
