J Emerg Med
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Given the frequency, severity, and attention of traumatic brain injury in children, benchmarking disparities and injury characteristics for adolescent patients is pivotal in understanding and enhancing both clinical care and outcomes. ⋯ The disparities in mechanisms for which black and white adolescent patients are seeking care at the ED for head, neck, or brain injury help to identify social-health risks of sustaining a head, neck, or brain injury. These racial disparities between black and white adolescents seen at the ED for head, neck, or brain injury suggest the need for further research to better understand the national representation of these disparities.
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Telemedicine is uniquely positioned to address challenges posed to emergency departments (EDs) by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. By reducing in-person contact, it should decrease provider risk of infection and preserve personal protective equipment (PPE). ⋯ Telehealth can be safely and efficiently used to evaluate, treat, test, and discharge ED patients suspected to have COVID-19. This workflow reduces infection risks to health care providers, PPE use, and ED-LOS. Additionally, it allows quarantined but otherwise well clinicians to continue working.
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Etiologies for Bell's palsy include herpes viruses and Lyme disease, with highest incidence in the colder and warmer months, respectively. In New Jersey, a Lyme-endemic area, the months with the most Lyme disease (80% of cases) are May through October ("Lyme months"). ⋯ In a Lyme-endemic area, positive Lyme tests and ED visits for Bell's palsy are greatest in the Lyme months, peaking in July. This finding can help guide testing and treatment for patients in the ED with Bell's palsy during various months of the year.
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Emergency Departments (ED) and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are relied on to address nonemergent needs causing long ED wait times. Baltimore City EMS provided over 100,000 transports, many for low-acuity medical needs. ⋯ This innovative model of on-scene evaluation and treatment can potentially reduce transports, decrease ED wait times, and reduce costs, in an effective and efficient way.
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Case Reports
Acute Angle-Closure Glaucoma Secondary to Vitreous Hemorrhage Diagnosed with the Aid of Point-of-Care Ultrasound.
Acute angle-closure glaucoma (AACG) caused by vitreous hemorrhage is a rare complication of intravitreal injection that often leads to permanent vision loss without prompt treatment. ⋯ This is a case of vitreous hemorrhage with secondary AACG in an 80-year-old man who presented to the emergency department (ED) with pain and vision loss in his left eye after undergoing intravitreal injection to treat exudative macular degeneration. The diagnosis was made with the use of point-of-care ultrasound after intraocular pressure (IOP) was found to be significantly elevated in the left eye. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Emergency physicians should have a high level of suspicion for AACG in patients who are diagnosed with a vitreous hemorrhage after intravitreal injection and should immediately measure IOP for elevation upon presentation to the ED.