The American journal of emergency medicine
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A 21-year old female presented to the emergency department with an abnormal appearance of her left eye after trivial trauma the previous day. A protruding, opaque appearing area was noted on the left cornea. ⋯ Corneal hydrops is a rare complication of keratoconus and various corneal ectasias where aqueous humor can leak into the corneal stroma causing edema and protruding pockets of fluid. Treatment is based on treating the underlying keratoconus or corneal ectasia in addition to cycloplegics, topical corticosteroids, topical antibiotics, and topical hypertonic saline.
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In South Korea, on-line medical direction using voice calls has been implemented to improve the quality of the emergency medical system. However, in the same, short time span, video will be able to convey more information than by voice. The purpose of this study is to find out if videotelephony-assisted medical direction (VAMD) can change the intervention of the emergency medical technician compared to using conventional voice calls. ⋯ The number of instances of medical direction for some interventions, such as interpretation of ECG and advice on medical techniques that did not perform well in conventional voice calls, increased in VAMD. VAMD may play an important role in the prehospital emergency care.
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Unique weather patterns can dramatically increase the number of emergency department (ED) visits due to falls on snow or ice compared to winter averages. They can create "Orthomageddon" incidences; days when the number of orthopedic injuries dramatically exceeds average. The study objective was to identify weather-dependent differences in demographics, length-of-stay (LOS) predictors, and volume for fall-injury presenting to the ED. The authors placed emphasis on Chinook or Foehn phenomenon (rapid freeze-thaw cycles) common east of the Rocky Mountains. ⋯ Weather, particularly nighttime conditions, are highly predictive of winter, fall-related ED volume. This may inform future population-level alerts for dates of elevated fall risk and ED staffing patterns.
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Hand injuries represent the most common and potentially serious injuries associated with the use of snow blowers. Little research has been conducted on a national scale to examine these types of injuries. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine hand injuries among patients treated in an emergency department (ED) related to attempting to clear snow out of a clogged snow blower. ⋯ Hand injuries remain the main threat of injury among snow blower operators. While trends are declining, given the seriousness of the injuries involved, further public health education campaigns and design modifications are warranted.