J Emerg Med
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Case Reports
Oral and Transdermal Rivastigmine for the Treatment of Anticholinergic Delirium: A Case Report.
Anticholinergic toxicity is a common cause of delirium in emergency department patients. The standard antidotal treatment for anticholinergic toxicity is physostigmine. Physostigmine functions as a reversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitor that readily crosses the blood-brain barrier. Rivastigmine is another member of this class currently approved for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Rivastigmine also crosses the blood-brain barrier and has been found to be effective in the management of anticholinergic toxicity in limited case reports. ⋯ A 61-year-old women presented to the emergency department via emergency medical services with altered mental status and a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 8 out of 15. She was found down near multiple medication bottles, including diphenhydramine and dicyclomine. Her physical examination was consistent with anticholinergic toxicity with mydriasis, obtundation, and warm flushed skin. In addition to standard resuscitation, she received two doses of rivastigmine 3 mg via nasogastric tube. After the second dose she was alert and oriented. She was admitted to the intensive care unit and had a rivastigmine patch applied. She was deemed back to her baseline 27 h after presentation. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Although the standard antidotal treatment for anticholinergic toxicity is physostigmine, there is a national shortage of this medication. In the absence of this standard antidote, it is reasonable for emergency physicians to use rivastigmine as an alternative treatment. This can be delivered orally or via nasogastric tube with dosing each hour until resolution of symptoms. Alternatively, in consultation with toxicology, it may be reasonable to use transdermal rivastigmine, as it provides consistent drug absorption for 24 h.
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A variety of clinicians practice in emergency departments (EDs). Although most ED patients prefer seeing physicians, a subset sees no physician. ⋯ A variety of patient and hospital characteristics influenced whether ED patients were seen by physicians. Diagnostic services, procedures, visit length, and hospital admission differed by physician presence. Findings have implications for ED practice and future research.
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Tube thoracostomy is rarely associated with serious bleeding complications. Although intercostal artery injury is a well-known bleeding complication, other vascular injuries in the chest wall have only rarely been reported. ⋯ A 58-year-old man with alcoholic liver cirrhosis presented to the emergency department with dyspnea. He was diagnosed by chest computed tomography with spontaneous hemopneumothorax, for which he underwent tube thoracostomy. However, bleeding in the chest wall continued, which required chest tube removal and blood transfusion. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography and angiography revealed contrast extravasation from the thoracodorsal artery, which confirmed a diagnosis of thoracodorsal artery injury. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Because the thoracodorsal artery gives branches to the serratus anterior muscles that are located in the "triangle of safety," chest tube placement in this area is not always safe; it can still cause major bleeding complications from vessels such as the thoracodorsal artery. Hence, close monitoring for bleeding is needed after tube thoracostomy.
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A wandering spleen (WS) is a rare clinical entity characterized by a spleen located in the lower part of the abdomen or the pelvic cavity rather than the normal anatomical site. The complications of a wandering spleen include splenic torsion, splenic infarction, and adjacent visceral injury. ⋯ We present a case of a male patient admitted to the emergency department with vomiting, nausea, and persistent lower abdominal pain. Computed tomography and ultrasound were performed and were used to diagnose a wandering spleen with torsion leading to splenic infarctions. Subsequently, laparoscopic surgery and pathology confirmed this diagnosis. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Ultrasound and computed tomography scans play a significant role in diagnosing WS and its complications, allowing an emergency physician to establish treatment options for WS.
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The use of supplemental oxygen (SO) for procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) is recommended in many guidelines, but the evidence of SO for the elderly is limited. ⋯ In a propensity-matched analysis, SO was associated with a lower incidence of hypoxia in elderly patients during ED PSA.