The American journal of emergency medicine
-
RDW is a prognostic biomarker and associated with mortality in cardiovascular disease, stroke and metabolic syndrome. For elderly patients, malnutrition and multiple comorbidities exist, which could affect the discrimination ability of RDW in sepsis. The main purpose of our study was to evaluate the prognostic value of RDW in sepsis among elderly patients. ⋯ In our study, RDW was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality in elderly patients with sepsis. For qSOFA scores <2, higher RDW levels were associated with poor prognosis. RDW could be a potential parameter used alongside the clinical prediction rules.
-
Currant jelly stool is a late manifestation of intussusception and is rarely seen in clinical practice. Other forms of GI bleeding have not been thoroughly studied and little is known about their respective diagnostic values. ⋯ Blood in stool, whether visible or tested by guaiac test has poor diagnostic performance in the evaluation of intussusception and is not independently predictive of intussusception. If the sole purpose of a rectal exam in these patients is for guaiac testing it should be reconsidered.
-
Observational Study
Utility of common bile duct measurement in emergency department point of care ultrasound: A prospective study.
Measurement of the common bile duct (CBD) is considered a fundamental component of biliary point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), but can be technically challenging. ⋯ Of patients diagnosed with biliary pathology, none had isolated CBD dilatation. In the absence of abnormal laboratory values and GWT, PCF or SMS on POCUS, obtaining a CBD measurement is unlikely to contribute to the evaluation of this patient population.