The American journal of emergency medicine
-
Case Reports
Lower limb myalgias in a man who used to "climb the stairs": an atypical abdominal aortic aneurysm.
Atypical presentation of emergency abdominal aortic aneurysm comprises a wide spectrum of symptoms. Lower limbs' involvement is infrequent, usually monolateral and with clear vascular features. We report the case of a 58-year-old patient who complained exclusively about symmetric lower limb myalgias without vascular features, after having repeatedly climbed the stairs of the school he worked in. The surprising final diagnosis was of rupturing abdominal aortic aneurysm; the patient was sent to emergency surgery and survived.
-
Physicians often overlook trepopnea as a symptom, and its prevalence and clinical repercussions are not usually described. We propose that trepopnea is a common symptom in heart failure (HF) and, because of patient avoidance of left lateral decubitus position, contributes to the greater prevalence of right-sided pleural effusion in patients with HF. Accordingly, this study aimed to determine trepopnea prevalence and to evaluate the association of trepopnea and the laterality of pleural effusion in decompensated HF. ⋯ Trepopnea is a common symptom in patients with decompensated HF and is associated with predominant right-sided pleural effusion in this population. Our results indicate that trepopnea may be a contributory factor for pleural effusion laterality in patients with decompensated HF.
-
Case Reports
Delayed subdural hematoma after receiving enoxaparin for prevention of thromboembolic events from high-risk surgery.
Enoxaparin (Lovenox) is a low–molecular weight heparin used to prevent deep venous thrombosis in patients undergoing total hip or knee arthroplasty. Anticoagulation in a patient after trauma may be dangerous and lead to significant hemorrhage. An elderly man fell and sustained a concussion and a hip fracture. ⋯ He received enoxaparin perioperatively and developed a delayed extensive subdural hematoma. Although enoxaparin has been shown to be an effective and a safe drug for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in orthopedic surgeries and trauma, severe bleeding may rarely occur, especially in the setting of head trauma. Other therapies for venous thromboembolic prophylaxis, such as mechanical thromboembolism prophylaxis methods, should be considered.
-
Case Reports
Successful extracorporeal membrane oxygenation treatment for pheochromocytoma-induced acute cardiac failure.
The aim of this study is to report the case of a catecholamine-induced cardiogenic shock bridged to curative adrenalectomy using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and medical management. A 37-year-old woman presented an acute cardiogenic shock due to a left-sided pheochromocytoma. Echocardiography revealed a severe global hypokinesia with a left ventricular ejection fraction of 15%. ⋯ Pheochromocytomas can present with dramatic cardiovascular collapse. With timely diagnosis and medical therapy, followed by surgical resection, the cardiovascular effects can be reversed; and the condition, cured. Young patients with catecholamine-induced cardiac failure refractory to medical therapy are ideal candidates for short-term ECMO support, as the underlying cause is imminently reversible.
-
The benefit of emergency reperfusion therapy with fibrinolytics or primary percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with ST-segment elevation (STE) acute myocardial infarction (MI) is well known. However, what is not well known are which subgroups of MI patients with ST-segment depression (STD) on the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) may benefit from emergent reperfusion therapy. Current clinical guidelines recommend against administering emergent reperfusion therapy to MI patients with STD on the ECG unless a true posterior MI is suspected. ⋯ This finding has been reported in MI patients with occlusion of the left main artery, occlusion of the proximal left anterior descending artery, and MI in the presence of severe multivessel coronary artery disease. Because these patients have a higher mortality in the setting of MI, we believe that this ECG finding be considered a STEMI equivalent and that patients with this finding receive consideration for emergent reperfusion therapy preferably at a center with both primary percutaneous coronary intervention and coronary artery bypass grafting capability. In this report, we present 3 such patients to heighten the awareness of the emergency physician to this phenomenon.