The American journal of emergency medicine
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Gastrointestinal hemorrhage (GIH) is a common complaint seen in the emergency department (ED) and carries a small but significant mortality rate. The principal purpose of this investigation was to determine whether an ED venous lactate as part of initial laboratory studies is predictive of mortality in patients admitted to the hospital for GIH. ⋯ Elevated initial lactate drawn in the ED can be associated with in-hospital mortality for ED patients with acute GIH. Prospective validation studies are warranted.
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Observational Study
Computed tomography is not justified in every pediatric blunt trauma patient with a suspicious mechanism of injury.
Computed tomography (CT) has become an important tool for the diagnosis of intra-abdominal and chest injuries in patients with blunt trauma. The role of CT in conscious asymptomatic patients with a suspicious mechanism of injury remains controversial. This controversy intensifies in the management of pediatric blunt trauma patients, who are much more susceptible to radiation exposure. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of abdominal and chest CT imaging in asymptomatic pediatric patients with a suspicious mechanism of injury. ⋯ The routine use of CT in asymptomatic pediatric patients with a suspicious mechanism of blunt trauma injury is not justified.
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The focused assessment with sonography for trauma examination has assumed the role of initial screening examination for the presence or absence of hemoperitoneum in the patient with blunt abdominal trauma. Sonographic pitfalls associated with the examination have primarily been related to mistaking contained fluid collections with hemoperitoneum. We present a case in which an elongated left lobe of the liver was misdiagnosed as a splenic subcapsular hematoma. It is imperative that emergency physicians and trauma surgeons be familiar with this normal variant of the liver and its associated sonographic appearance on the perisplenic window in order to prevent nontherapeutic laparotomies or embolizations.
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Penetrating atheromatous ulcer (PAU) is an atherosclerotic ulcer penetrating the internal elastic lamina of the aortic wall causing a hematoma within the media layer of aorta. They are commonly located in the descending aorta of the elderly and hypertensive patients. They may rarely be complicated by aortic dissection. We report a relative young normotensive patient presenting with acute aortic dissection due to PAU located in the ascending aorta.
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Lung ultrasound has emerged as a rapid and accurate screening tool for pneumothorax. The lung point sign, a sonographic representation of the point on the chest wall where the pleural layers re-adhere, is 100% specific to confirm the diagnosis. Double lung point sign for a single pneumothorax is extremely unusual and has only been reported twice in the literature. ⋯ Chest computed tomography was notable for an anterior left pneumothorax with underlying pulmonary contusion. Bedside ultrasound of this region revealed a double lung point sign. Our case report is the first to confirm association of the double lung point sign with a single pneumothorax on corresponding computed tomographic imaging.