J Emerg Med
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Despite the fact that topical anesthetics provide superb analgesia to the painful eye, they are not prescribed routinely to patients when they are discharged from the emergency department because of concerns for delayed healing and corneal erosion. ⋯ Limited available data suggests that the use of dilute topical ophthalmologic proparacaine or tetracaine for a short duration of time is effective, though their safety for outpatient use is inconclusive.
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We present the case of the youngest known patient diagnosed with surfer's myelopathy. Surfer's myelopathy is a rare nontraumatic myelopathy. The most likely etiology, presumably, is arterial insufficiency related to spine hyperextension. Symptoms consist of back pain, urinary incontinence or retention, paraplegia, and sensory loss. ⋯ A 7-year-old girl presented with back pain, urinary retention, and lower extremity weakness after doing backbends during a cheerleading practice the day prior to presentation. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: With the trend of children becoming increasingly active in competitive sports at a younger age, surfer's myelopathy is a diagnosis that should be considered when the symptoms are present and the history consists of hyperextending the back. As in our case, a seemingly benign trauma can lead to the diagnosis of surfer's myelopathy.
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Synthetic cannabinoids, referred to as "Bonzai" in Turkey, are relatively new recreational drugs of abuse. Although the use of synthetic cannabinoids has been dramatically increasing in young populations in many countries, their adverse effects are not well known. ⋯ Synthetic cannabinoids are unsafe and potentially harmful drugs of abuse; they may even cause life-threatening effects. It is important for pediatricians to be familiar with the signs and symptoms of consumption of synthetic cannabinoid products. Education of parents, teachers, and adolescents about the potential health risks of using these products is essential.
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As per American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines, the delay between first medical contact and balloon inflation should not exceed 90 min for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In North America, few prehospital systems have been developed to grant rural populations timely access to PCI. ⋯ This study demonstrated that a regionalized prehospital system for STEMI patients could achieve the recommended 90-min interval benchmark for PCI, while giving timely access to PCI to rural populations that would not otherwise have access to this treatment.