The American journal of emergency medicine
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Although ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve block (UGPNB) has recently been introduced into pediatric emergency departments (EDs), knowledge of its use is still limited among pediatric emergency physicians. Ultrasound-guided ulnar nerve block (UGUNB) is a form of peripheral nerve block available for controlling the pain caused by phalangeal injuries, but studies of its use in pediatric patients are still scarce. The aim of this case series was to describe the experience of UGUNB use for pediatric phalangeal fractures in a pediatric ED setting. ⋯ Approximately 0.1-0.2 mg/kg of 1% lidocaine was used as the nerve block. The procedure was effective for pain control, and fracture reduction was successfully performed without the need for rescue analgesia. This case series demonstrated that UGUNB has the potential to be a useful alternative to conventional pain management in pediatric fifth digit injuries.
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We seek to determine if experienced emergency medicine physicians can accurately predict the likelihood of admission for patients at the time of triage. Such predictions, if proven to be accurate, could decrease the time spent in the ED for patients who will ultimately be admitted by hastening downstream workflow. ⋯ Physicians performed poorly at predicting which patients would be admitted at the time of triage, even when they were confident in their predictions. Conversely, physicians accurately predicted who would be discharged. Physicians predicted with reasonable accuracy the service to which patients were ultimately admitted. More research and operational assessment needs to be performed to determine if these predictions can help improve ED efficiency.
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A 27-year-old man presented with an intentional overdose of concentrated caffeine powder that he bought over the internet. The patient received benzodiazepines and ondansetron for symptomatic treatment when he arrived in the Emergency Department (ED). ⋯ The patient's caffeine level was >90 mg/L. This is the first known report of treatment of caffeine-induced supraventricular tachycardia with metoprolol.
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Mefenamic acid is a fenamate nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAI) drug, which is used for several years for pain management. However, it has been rarely reported that, mefenamic acid can induce central nervous system toxicity both in toxic doses and therapeutic usage. We report a case of a 27-year-old female who presented to the emergency department (ED) with altered mental status and vomiting. ⋯ However, her relatives later stated that, she took mefenamic acid for her pains since two weeks. After her admission to intensive care unit, her neurologic state was improved gradually after plasmapheresis and she was discharged healthy. Although mefenamic acid has been considered as one of the safe NSAI drugs, its effects due to central nervous system toxicity should be cautiously handled.
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A 52-year-old lady presented to the emergency department with recurrent episodes of dizziness and near-syncope on awakening up or swinging her left arm. Initial rhythm strips demonstrated intermittently non-conducted p waves corresponding to inappropriate pacemaker inhibition and oversensing malfunction. ⋯ The patient was diagnosed with pacemaker lead failure supported by correlating pacemaker lead variation with homolateral arm movement. The patient was referred to an electrophysiologist and underwent new right ventricular lead placement with the resolution of symptoms.