The American journal of emergency medicine
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Observational Study
Prescription opioid misuse among ED patients discharged with opioids.
The purposes of this study were to determine the prevalence of prescription opioid misuse in a cohort of discharged emergency department (ED) patients who received prescription opioids and to examine factors predictive of misuse. ⋯ Prescription opioid misuse was prevalent among this cohort of ED patients. A heterogeneous mixture of behaviors was captured. Future research should focus on the etiologies of misuse with directed screening and interventions to decrease misuse.
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Cranial computed tomography (CT) is generally regarded as the standard for evaluation of structural brain injury in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) presenting to the emergency department (ED). However, the subjective nature of the visual interpretations of CT scans and the qualitative nature of reporting may lead to poor interrater reliability. This is significant because CT positive scans include a continuum of structural injury with differences in treatment. ⋯ However, when interrater agreement was assessed with respect to the specific classification of the injury, agreement was poor, with a κ of 0.3 (0.29-0.316; confidence interval [CI] 95%). When classification was collapsed, considering only the presence or absence of hematomas, agreement among all 3 adjudicators improved to 55%, but the κ of 0.355, (0.332-0.78; CI 95%) was still only fair. The data suggest the need for improved recognition and quantification of specific structural injuries in the TBI population for better identification of patients requiring clinical intervention.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
A comparison of suprascapular nerve block and procedural sedation analgesia in shoulder dislocation reduction.
Dislocation of the shoulder joint is one of the most common dislocations. The reduction procedure is a painful procedure. In this study, 2 different treatment groups were compared for pain control during shoulder dislocation reduction. It was aimed to evaluate the differences between the groups in reduction, success, length of hospital stay, complications, side effects, patient-physician satisfaction, and ease of application. ⋯ Suprascapular nerve block, which can be easily applied under USG in the ED, can be evaluated as a good alternative to SA in the reduction of shoulder dislocations.
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Review Case Reports
Cannabinoid hyperemesis acute renal failure: a common sequela of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.
We report the case of a 25-year-old man with an 8-year history of daily marijuana use diagnosed with acute renal failure secondary to cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. The patient presented with “constant” vomiting for over a day. His symptoms were completely relieved with compulsive hot showering and partially relieved by hot baths, by high ambient room temperature, and transiently after smoking marijuana. ⋯ The unique combination of intractable vomiting and constant hot showers seems to put CHS patients at significant risk of severe dehydration and prerenal failure, a common and distinct entity we suggest be termed cannabinoid hyperemesis acute renal failure (CHARF). The characteristics of cannabinoid hyperemesis acute renal failure patients were similar to CHS patients, except a larger portion were over the age of 30 (4 of 6, vs 30%). Evaluating physicians should maintain a high degree of suspicion for this common sequela of CHS.