The American journal of emergency medicine
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Copper deficiency is an uncommon condition primarily affecting the hematologic and neurologic systems. We report a unique case of severe anemia in a patient with copper deficiency caused by zinc supplement use.
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Superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS) is a malignancy-related emergency. It is caused by obstruction of blood flow in the superior vena cava (SVC) secondary to intraluminal thrombosis, external compression, or direct invasion of tumor. ⋯ This case report highlights the role of resuscitative TEE in evaluating a hypotensive patient with clinical suspicion of SVCS at the emergency department. TEE performed at the bedside could help to diagnose and demonstrate the pathology causing SVCS in this case. TEE allowed high-quality image acquisition and was able to overcome the limitation of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). TEE should be considered as an alternative ED imaging modality in the management of SVCS.