The American journal of emergency medicine
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Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome is a clinico-neuroradiologic entity with typical symptoms and symmetric high-signal intensity lesions in the bilateral parietooccipital lobes on T2-weighted or fluid-attenuated inversion recovery magnetic resonance imaging. In this presentation, we report a case of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome who was admitted to our emergency department because of seizure and deterioration of consciousness. The aim of this presentation is to alert the emergency physicians about one of the hypertensive emergencies with neurologic symptoms associated with hypertension.
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Case Reports
ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in a 37-year-old man with normal coronaries--it is not always cocaine!
Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. With the increase in substance abuse, the incidence of acute myocardial infarction (MI) in younger population has been on the rise. Traditionally, cocaine has been blamed for acute MI; however, recently, there have been more incidences of marijuana as an inciting factor. We present a case of marijuana-induced acute MI and discuss the proposed mechanism.
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Wernicke encephalopathy (WE) is a medical emergency caused by thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency. Typical clinical manifestations are mental change, ataxia, and ocular abnormalities. Wernicke encephalopathy is an important differential diagnosis in all patients with acute mental change. ⋯ Axial fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images showing symmetrical hyperintensity lesions in dentate nuclei of cerebellum, olivary bodies, and dorsal pons. Although atypical MRI findings are more common in nonalcoholic WE, it can also occur in alcoholic WE. This article is aimed to highlight the potential pitfalls in diagnosing acute mental change, the importance of clinical suspicion, and early treatment in WE.
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Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients and has serious prognostic implications. The early identification of patients at risk of developing AKI at the emergency department (ED) can reduce its incidence. ⋯ Factors associated with AKI in STEMI patients allowed physicians to identify patients at high risk in the ED. Moreover, reduced door-to-needle time and β-blocker use were associated with renal protection in AMI patients.
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Intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV rt-PA) is the only established thrombolytic therapy for acute ischemic stroke. However, secondary embolism after IV rt-PA for acute ischemic stroke is recognized as an uncommon complication, and the pathophysiology is unclear. ⋯ Because the patient has paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (Af), the possible embolic sources may come from fragmentation of pre-existing intra-atrial clot. Although Af and the presence of cardiac thrombus are not contraindication for IV rt-PA in acute ischemic stroke, our case and review suggested that the administration of IV rt-PA to patients with known Af and intracardiac thrombus could represent a particular risk situation and should be carefully evaluated.