The American journal of emergency medicine
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Case Reports
Metformin-Induced Lactic Acidosis (MILA): A case report and review of current diagnostic paradigm.
A new diagnostic paradigm has been proposed to better categorize causes of Metformin-Associated Lactic Acidosis (MALA). The diagnostic criteria defines a link between Metformin and lactic acidosis if lactate is >5mmol/L, Ph<7.35 and Metformin assay >5mg/L. Metformin assays are not readily available in emergency departments including nationwide Veteran's Affairs Hospitals; thereby making this proposed classification tool difficult to use in today's clinical practice. ⋯ According to the new criterion, our case would be classified as "Lactic Acidosis in Metformin-Treated Patients (LAMT)." However, the term LAMT does not distinguish between a septic patient taking Metformin with lactic acidosis, and a patient who ingested toxic amounts of Metformin and has lactic acidosis (in absence of Metformin assay). Our case highlights the importance of medication reconciliation done on arrival to emergency department. Timing and dosing of Metformin in patients who present to the emergency department with lactic acidosis may cinch the diagnosis of Metformin-Induced Lactic Acidosis (MILA) in the absence of a Metformin assay but in the right clinical context.
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Hyperglycemia with unknown mechanism plays a predictive role in determining the prognosis of multiple trauma patients. The exact time of blood sugar measurement and the role of blood sugar changes in the monitoring of these patients have not been well established. ⋯ In multiple trauma patients, blood sugar changes in the early hours of admission to the emergency department may help predict hospital mortality, but further studies are needed. Blood sugar monitoring in these patients during this time frame may be helpful in predicting these patients' outcomes. In addition, coagulopathy and tachycardia were significantly associated with hospital mortality.
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Emergency physicians face the challenge of rapidly identifying high-risk trauma patients. Lactate (LAC) is widely used as a surrogate of tissue hypoperfusion. However, clinically important values for LAC as a predictor of mortality are not well defined.
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This case is significant to the practice of emergency medicine because it represents the development of an uncommon and potentially fatal mediastinal infection from a commonly encountered and appropriately treated community respiratory pathogen. Most published reports on mediastinitis are those that are status-post cardiothoracic surgery. In our report, we discuss a case of a healthy, young individual who developed this morbid entity from extension of a simple respiratory infection where Group C Streptococcus has been isolated as the causative organism, which to our knowledge has not been previously reported. Further, this report outlines how a community acquired pneumonia progressed to a life threatening illness despite proper initial treatment per local and national guidelines.
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Case Reports
An incidental image of a patient with chest pain after fall from a tree: Swyer-James-MacLeod syndrome?
Unilateral hyperlucent lung was firstly described by Swyer and James 1950s. After that, some patients with same disease were detected by Macleod. Then this syndrome was named as Swyer- James-Macleod syndrome (SJMS), and this syndrome includes a smaller or normal sized unilateral hyperlucent lung. ⋯ In his computed tomography no rib fracture, pneumothorax and hemothorax. But an abnormal image (5.5 cm hyperlucent area) was seen in his left lung. This report aims to present one of incidentally diagnosed rare case of SJMS.