The American journal of emergency medicine
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Prescription opioid related deaths have increased dramatically over the past 17 years. Although emergency physicians (EPs) have not been the primary force behind this rise, previous literature have suggested that EPs could improve their opioid prescribing practices. We designed this study to evaluate the trend in emergency department (ED) opioid prescriptions over time during the US opioid epidemic. ⋯ ED physicians are prescribing less opiates, while increasing the amount of non-narcotic analgesic prescriptions. This may be in response to the literature suggesting that prescription opioids play a large role in the opioids crisis. This decrease in opioid prescriptions did not increase the need for repeat ED visits.
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Smartphones and connected devices allow patients to monitor their health in a variety of ways. We report the case of a patient presenting to the emergency department complaining of palpitations and syncope. ⋯ This case highlights the importance of proactively requesting such information from patients, though normal recordings may not preclude cardiac arrhythmia. Controlled clinical studies are needed to validate such practices.
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Spontaneous lung herniation is a rare finding, most often the result of forceful coughing. Risk factors include obesity, male gender, tobacco use, and steroid use. Surgical repair is recommended due to increasing size of herniation and pain control. Life style modification, such as smoking cessation, is recommended in this patient population.
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We present the case of a patient who presented to the emergency department complaining of diffuse myalgias, severe jaw pain and chills. She met criteria for severe sepsis and received treatment including analgesia, antibiotics, intravenous fluids, and antipyretics. Workup revealed an elevated lactate and leukocytosis however, did not reveal any infectious source. ⋯ The key to the treatment of this patient was steroids, antihistamines, and supportive treatment. Emergency physicians do not often encounter infliximab infusion reactions because they occur so infrequently. Along with more common diagnoses such as sepsis, emergency physicians should include infliximab infusion reactions on the differential diagnosis in patients receiving this medication.