The American journal of emergency medicine
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Acute dyspnea affects a large heterogeneous patient group with high mortality and readmission rates. ⋯ A score of tPA, PRL, FAS and CCL3 predicts 6-month death and readmission in patients hospitalized for acute dyspnea and may prove useful to optimize length of stay and follow-up. Although the BRS outweighs dyspnea severity in prediction of the endpoint, its prognostic role is strongest in mild-moderate dyspnea.
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Takayasu arteritis is a form of vasculitis that involves the aorta, its major branches, and the pulmonary arteries. Coronary artery involvement is not uncommon, and most frequently includes the ostia and proximal segments. ⋯ However, recent advances in imaging modalities-including magnetic resonance angiography, computed tomography (CT), sonography, and fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)/CT Isobe (2013) [2]-have facilitated earlier and more accurate diagnoses of this condition. Here we report a case in which imaging revealed stenosis in the ostia of the coronary artery.
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Case Reports
A case of cardiac arrest that occurred on a high mountain in which a favorable outcome was obtained.
A 36-year-old man started to climb Mount Fuji (3776m above sea level: ASL), from the Gotemba new fifth station (2400m ASL). He had no significant medical history, and this was his first attempt to climb such a high mountain. He began feeling chest discomfort but continued to climb. ⋯ A chest computed tomography angiogram indicated triple-vessel disease. He was discharged without any neurological deficits after undergoing bypass surgery. In high mountains that can be easily accessed by amateur climbers who may have cardiac disease, the placement of AED devices and the establishment of the chain of survival from the scene to the intensive care unit are essential for obtaining a favorable outcome when a climber suffers cardiac arrest.
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Clinicians still face significant challenge in predicting intra-abdominal injuries in patients admitted to an emergency department for blunt abdominal trauma. This study was thus designed to investigate the value of dipstick urinalysis in patients with blunt abdominal trauma. ⋯ Dipstick urinalysis was neither adequately specific nor sensitive for predicting abdominal injury and should thus not be used as a key assessment component in patients suffering from blunt abdominal trauma, with physical exam and vital sign assessment the preferred choice.