The American journal of emergency medicine
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Case Reports
Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome as the first presentation of chronic kidney disease.
Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome is a clinicoradiologic syndrome characterized by seizure, headache, nausea, vomiting, altered mental status, visual disturbance, or visual loss, together with radiologic findings. Herein we reported a patient who was a 27-year-old foreign workman brought to the emergency ward with blurred vision in both eyes, neck pain, somnolence, and altered mental status. He had no known medical or family history. ⋯ The findings from a complete blood count, biochemical testing, and renal, pelvic and abdominal ultrasound and also the calculated glomerular filtration rate values revealed that all were in favor of chronic kidney disease (hemoglobin level, 10.3 mg/dL; blood urea nitrogen, 90 mg/dL; Cr, 6.8 mg/dL; potassium, 5 mEq/L; sodium, 140 mEq/L; Cockcroft-Gault glomerular filtration rate, 15; weight, 65 kg). The hemodialysis was performed by which the sign and symptoms and radiologic findings resolved within 24 hours. Although PRES is described to be in association with many medical conditions, as mentioned in many available articles, we came to a conclusion that PRES could be the first presentation of a condition such as chronic kidney disease in our case.
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Chest pain and discomfort are regarded as the hallmark symptoms of acute coronary syndrome, and the absence of these symptoms are described as “atypical” presentation. In this case, we aimed to report an acute coronary syndrome–diagnosed patient who was admitted to our emergency service with unilateral earache.
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Bowel obstruction is rare in pregnancy, and delay in recognition can lead to serious maternal and fetal complications. Most reported causes of bowel obstruction in pregnancy (adhesions, intussusception, hernia, and carcinoma) require surgical intervention. Sigmoid volvulus is an acute surgical cause that can now be managed successfully without surgery. We report the case of 33-year-old lady who presented with a sigmoid volvulus that was successfully managed with urgent endoscopic decompression.
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Acute lingual abscess is a rare yet life-threatening clinical entity. Lingual abscess must be appropriately diagnosed and treated in the emergency department to avoid acute airway compromise. A 68-year-old woman on immunomodulatory medication for rheumatoid arthritis presented to the emergency department with left facial pain and swelling. ⋯ Intravenous antibiotics are the primary treatment modality, with consideration given to adjunctive surgical drainage. We present this case to increase awareness surrounding this diagnosis among emergency physicians. Spontaneous lingual abscess should be considered in immunocompromised patients who present to the emergency department with tongue pain and edema even in the absence of lingual trauma.
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Prone ventilation is usually used for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. We applied an alternative method to prone position. ⋯ Respiratory mechanics work to improve oxygenation almost as same as the mechanism proposed for prone position without any major adverse effects and serious complications. We suggest a larger randomized study to determine the efficacy and also to find out the optimum weight required to compress the chest.