Archives

Bottoms Up: Methamphetamine Toxicity from an Unusual Route

Methamphetamine (MA) use is becoming commonplace, and emergency physicians (EPs) are seeing patients with abuse-associated complications. Previous reports have described inhalational and intravenous routes. We present the second case of rectal MA abuse in the literature. Trans-rectal use is important for EPs to consider because ongoing absorption of massive quantities may be averted upon detection. Additionally, trans-rectal abuse risks anorectal trauma and vascular necrosis with colonic perforation.

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Polycystic Kidney Disease with Renal failure Presenting as Incarcerated Inguinal Hernia in the ED

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease may present to the emergency department (ED) with vomiting, abdominal pain or hernias, renal insufficiency or failure, or bleeding from cerebral aneurysms. A 37-year-old man presented to the ED with signs and symptoms of incarcerated inguinal hernia. Laboratory studies showed renal failure with anion gap acidosis, and bedside ultrasound showed multicystic kidneys. Computed tomography confirmed the diagnosis. Emergency physicians should be aware of this common connective tissue defect and its serious associated conditions.

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A Statistical Analysis of Santa Barbara Ambulance Response in 2006: Performance Under Load

Ambulance response times in Santa Barbara County for 2006 are analyzed using point process techniques, including kernel intensity estimates and K-functions. Clusters of calls result in significantly higher response times, and this effect is quantified. In particular, calls preceded by other calls within 20 km and within the previous hour are significantly more likely to result in violations. This effect appears to be especially pronounced within semi-rural neighborhoods.

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Incidence of Serious Bacterial Infections in Ex-premature Infants with a Postconceptional Age Less Than 48 Weeks Presenting to a Pediatric Emergency Department

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.

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Inter-Rater Reliability of Historical Data Collected by Non-Medical Research Assistants and Physicians in Patients with Acute Abdominal Pain

In many academic emergency departments (ED), physicians are asked to record clinical data for research that may be time consuming and distracting from patient care. We hypothesized that non-medical research assistants (RAs) could obtain historical information from patients with acute abdominal pain as accurately as physicians.

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The Colorado Compendium: An Article-Based Literature Review Program

The immense body of knowledge that emergency medicine (EM) encompasses is constantly growing and ever changing. Textbooks build a strong foundation for the EM resident, but journal articles critical for modifying and improving EM practices are equally important for a well-rounded education. Determining which journal articles are vital to an EM residency education is a challenge. Lacking a formalized list of key articles available to EM residents and realizing that a list of articles without a guide may be difficult and confusing for novice readers, we created the “Colorado Compendium”: a recommended reading list, limited to 100 articles with accompanying summaries, tailored to emergency medicine residents.

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Cauda Equina syndrome

A 26-year-old male with a history of a work-related back injury presented to the emergency department complaining of several weeks of low back pain radiating down his left leg.

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Periorbital Noise

A 54-year-old man presented to the emergency department with a Glasgow Coma Score of 8 after throwing himself out of a window.

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Second Impact Syndrome

A controversial term first described by Saunders and Harbaugh1 in 1984, Second Impact Syndrome (SIS) consists of two events. Typically, it involves an athlete suffering post-concussive symptoms following a head injury.

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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.