Archives

Achilles Tendon Rupture

Volume 16, Issue 1, January 2015
Sean P. Stickles, MD et al.

A 60-year-old man presented to the emergency department complaining of acute onset posterior ankle pain. He reported playing tennis earlier in the afternoon when he suddenly stopped and pivoted, noting a “pop” sensation and pain to the right posterior ankle.

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Half-dose Alteplase for Sub-massive Pulmonary Embolism Directed by Emergency Department Point-of-care Ultrasound

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.

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Ultrasound Distinguishes Ascites from a Large Ovarian Fluid-Filled Cyst

Volume 15, Issue 7, November 2014
Marissa Camilon, MD et al.

A 51-year-old woman with Hepatitis C was referred to the emergency department (ED) for “massive ascites.” She reported increasing abdominal girth for six months with intermittent abdominal pain. An outpatient ultrasound performed two weeks prior to ED presentation was interpreted by a radiologist as “massive ascites, no masses within the abdomen” on the paper report the patient brought with her. In the ED, the patient was afebrile with normal vital signs. Her abdomen was distended with mild right upper quadrant tenderness.

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Sydenham Chorea: Rare Consequence of Rheumatic Fever

Volume 15, Issue 7, November 2014
Paul J. Myers, DO, et al.

Sydenham Chorea (SC) is an acute rheumatic fever complication. SC is the most common acquired childhood chorea, usually affecting children five to fifteen years of age.1 It occurs following an untreated group A streptococcal infection and a latent period of one to six months.1,2 Despite rheumatic fever diminishing, 18% to 36% of acute rheumatic fever patients develop SC.3 Full recovery often takes several months; some patients suffer permanent neurologic sequelae.1

An 11-year old male presented to the Emergency Department with two days of uncontrolled body twitching. The movements affected his right arm and leg, with occasional lip twitches; he experienced intermittent confusion and hyperactivity. The patient denied recent illness, but recalled a fever with headache and vomiting several months prior. Besides the above findings, his physical examination was normal.

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Post Transapical Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) Pseudoaneurysm

Volume 15, Issue 7, November 2014
Michael W. Manning, MS et al.

A 63-year-old female presented to the emergency department with complaints of her “heart beating out of my chest,” palpitations, and shortness of breath. She was three months postoperative a #23 Edwards Sapien Transapical Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR).

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A Woman with Dyspnea and Hemoptysis

Volume 15, Issue 7, November 2014
Steven G. Schauer, DO et al.

A 55-year-old female presented to the emergency department at a small community hospital with cough, fever, dyspnea and blood-streaked sputum. A chest radiograph was ordered.

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From the Heart: Interatrial Septal Aneurysm Identified on Bedside Ultrasound

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.

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Diagnosis of Fournier’s Gangrene on Bedside Ultrasound

Volume 15, Issue 2, March 2014
Christopher Coyne, MD et al.

A previously healthy 48 year-old male presented to the hospital with a 4-week history of “pimples” on his scrotum. This condition had progressively worsened, resulting in increased pain, swelling and redness to the genital region and buttocks.

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Emergency Ultrasound Identification of a Cornual Ectopic Pregnancy

Typically, clinicians think of ectopic pregnancies as occurring outside of the uterus. This case is important in underscoring the fact that there are variants of ectopic pregnancies that exist within the uterus. One classic type is the cornual ectopic pregnancy, which occurs in a congenital bicornate uterus. The shape of this uterus may allow for implantation to occur high in one of the cornual limbs.

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Tuberculous Pleural Effusion

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.

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Evaluation of Breast Disorders with Ultrasound

This case demonstrates that the potential use of bedside ultrasound by emergency physicians can be a rapid and helpful diagnostic tool in differentiating an uncomplicated infectious condition, mastitis, from more complex pathology, such as breast cancer, that was ultimately diagnosed in this patient.

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Boarder Patrol: A Reform Policy for America’s Paralyzed Emergency Departments

  Author Affiliation Peter J. Bloomfied, MD, MPH Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, Sylmar, CA; Brotman Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, Culver City, CA Adam B. Landman, MD, MS, MIS Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program, Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, New Haven, CT; US Department […]

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Contact Information

WestJEM/ Department of Emergency Medicine
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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.