The American journal of emergency medicine
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Thyroid storm is a rare clinical emergency with a mortality rate between 20% and 30%. Cardiac arrhythmias associated with thyrotoxicosis are usually supraventricular. Ventricular arrhythmias are rarely associated with this entity and tend to occur in patients with intrinsic cardiac disease. ⋯ The mechanism for ventricular arrhythmia is not clear but seems to be due to the increased myocardial excitability directly caused by the thyroid hormones. The presence of myocarditis lesions may constitute an arrhythmogenic substratum and contribute further to this manifestation. This case emphasizes the importance of cardiac monitoring in patients with thyroid storm.
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To determine which factors predict death among trauma patients who are alive on arrival at hospital. ⋯ Age, premorbid conditions, hospital RTS, and NISS are significant predictors of death after trauma. The time intervals between the accident and arrival at the hospital, arrival at the hospital and the first computed tomography scan or the first crucial emergency intervention, do not appear to affect the risk of death.
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Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is a well-established treatment modality for renal calculi since the 1980s (Urology 1984;23(5):59–66). In general, it is a safe and effective noninvasive therapeutic modality for treatment of urolithiasis. ⋯ In this case report, a 56-year-old woman developed severe abdominal pain with signs of hemorrhagic shock 2 days post–extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy procedure. Computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis showed a large intrahepatic hemorrhage that required hepatic artery embolization.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Ibuprofen vs acetaminophen vs their combination in the relief of musculoskeletal pain in the ED: a randomized, controlled trial.
Non-opioid analgesics are often administered to emergency department (ED) patients with musculoskeletal pain but if inadequate, opioids are given with associated potential adverse events. We tested the hypothesis that the reduction in pain scores with the combination of ibuprofen and acetaminophen would be at least 15 mm greater than with either of the agents alone. We conducted a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial of adult ED patients with acute musculoskeletal pain. ⋯ However, there was no significant difference among treatments (P = .59). The need for rescue analgesics was similar across groups. We conclude that the combination of ibuprofen and acetaminophen did not reduce pain scores or the need for rescue analgesics compared with either agent alone in ED patients with pain secondary to acute musculoskeletal injuries.