The American journal of emergency medicine
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Separately, diverticulitis and inguinal hernias are both common findings in emergency medicine. However, diverticulitis within a reducible hernia has not been previously reported. We present a case of sigmoid diverticulitis within a non incarcerated easily reducible hernia treated with conservative management. Our review of literature did not reveal any previously documented cases of this type of presentation.
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The aim of study was to determine the impact of "goal-directed transvaginal ultrasonography" (TVUSG) on real-time clinical decision making of attending emergency physicians evaluating their level of certainty for preliminary diagnosis, admission, surgery, treatment, additional laboratory, and discharge in patients presenting with acute pelvic pain to the emergency department (ED). This prospective cross-sectional clinical study was conducted on sexually active female patients older than 18 years who presented with acute pelvic pain in the ED. The level of certainty of clinical decision making as mentioned above was measured by a visual analogue scale from 0 to 100 mm with 100 mm being most certain before and after TVUSG. ⋯ The remaining 75 (85.2%) patients were discharged from the ED; of the patients that had been discharged, 18 (20.5%) patients later consulted another physician, and no further pathology could be discovered. In conclusion, US performed by attending emergency physicians may affect the certainty of their decisions in patients presenting with acute pelvic pain. This effect statistically significantly on the decision to determine preliminary diagnosis.
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Emergency department (ED) HIV screening is recommended but challenging to implement and of uncertain effectiveness in pediatric EDs (PEDs). We sought to determine whether there were opportunities for earlier HIV diagnosis in the PED for a cohort of young adults diagnosed with HIV. ⋯ There are opportunities for earlier diagnosis of HIV in PEDs, affirming the importance of HIV screening implementation in these settings. However, PEDs are unlikely to have the same frequency of contact with undiagnosed individuals as do adult EDs. Alternative methods of accessing at-risk adolescent populations must be identified.
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Aortic dissection is a frequently devastating diagnosis classically associated with severe chest pain. We present a case of painless aortic dissection with anterograde amnesia. An 84-year-old man was brought to the emergency department by ambulance, when his wife noted that he developed acute onset complete loss of short-term memory. ⋯ The family decided to transition to comfort care measures, and the patient died soon after. We identified 7 other cases in the literature of aortic dissection cases with presentations consistent with transient global amnesia,5 of which without neurologic deficits and 3 of which without pain. This case highlights the imperative of a thorough history and high index of suspicion for this catastrophic diagnosis in patients with transient global amnesia who otherwise might be expected to have an excellent prognosis and little need for diagnostic work-up.
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A 51-year-old woman with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis was initiated on fingolimod. She developed a Mobitz Type I (Wenckebach)second-degree atrioventricular (AV) heart block during the initial 6-hour monitoring. ⋯ Junctional tachycardia has not been previously reported with fingolimod use. Patients may require extended cardiac monitoring after fingolimod administration.