European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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To determine whether it is necessary to routinely measure serum salicylate levels in addition to serum paracetamol levels in alert overdose patients who deny ingestion of that substance. ⋯ Given the relatively low clinical risk and evident symptoms and signs from salicylate overdose, routine testing may not be required for fully conscious asymptomatic patients who deny taking it. The risks of delayed toxicity and lack of initial symptoms in those ingesting paracetamol suggests that continued routine testing is necessary.
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Case Reports
Acute spontaneous cervical spinal epidural hematoma with hemiparesis as the initial presentation.
Acute onset of hemiparesis is a common initial presentation of cerebral vascular accidents, but many differential diagnoses should be considered. Hemiparesis results from an upper motor neuron lesion above the midcervical spinal cord, and the absence of cranial nerve signs or facial palsy suggests a lesion in the high cervical spinal cord. Most spinal cord lesions, however, result in quadriparesis or paraparesis, but not hemiparesis. We present a rare case of acute spontaneous cervical spinal epidural hematoma, with initial presentation of right hemiparesis and mild neck pain.
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Case Reports
Reversible visual loss in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis and the role of vascular imaging.
Spontaneous vertebral artery dissection is a condition that can have lethal consequences. The condition should be considered in young male patients who present with a stroke. ⋯ The diagnosis is confirmed with angiography. Here, we present a middle-aged male gardener with rheumatoid arthritis and signs of vertebral artery dissection to highlight the importance of diagnosis and discuss the controversies in management.
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A student-oriented basic life support and first-aid training is practical to enlarge the number of qualified people in the field. In this study, we aimed to describe and discuss the training process of a group of medical students at Hacettepe University, School of Medicine and their assessment as basic life support and first-aid trainers. ⋯ Although there are limitations, we hope that our experience of the Training the Trainers course will be useful for readers to highlight the importance of skill-based peer education on a very important public health concern, especially for the developing countries.