J Emerg Med
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Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of abdominal pain in children requiring operative intervention. Among a number of sonographic criteria to aid in the diagnosis of appendicitis, an outer diameter >6 mm is the most objective and widely accepted. However, there is a lack of evidence-based standards governing this consensus. ⋯ In our patients, adopting a 7-mm rather than a 6-mm appendiceal diameter threshold would balance a greater number of missed cases of acute appendicitis for a reduction in the number of unnecessary surgeries.
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As early as 1826, divers diving to great depths noted that descent often resulted in a phenomenon of intoxication and euphoria. In 1935, Albert Behnke discovered nitrogen as the cause of this clinical syndrome, a condition now known as nitrogen narcosis. ⋯ The syndrome remains relatively unchanged in modern diving when compressed air is used. Behnke's use of non-nitrogen-containing gas mixtures subsequent to his discovery during the 1939 rescue of the wrecked submarine USS Squalus pioneered the use of non-nitrogen-containing gas mixtures, which are used by modern divers when working at great depth to avoid the effects of nitrogen narcosis.