J Emerg Med
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Review Case Reports
Spontaneous Pneumocephalus: A Case Report with a Literature Review.
Pneumocephalus is defined as gas in the intracranial space. Common causes include head trauma, surgery, and diagnostic/therapeutic procedures resulting from the direct disruption of the dura. Spontaneous or nontraumatic pneumocephalus is an uncommon condition, often caused by infection, either due to insidious disruption of the dura or gas-forming pathogens. ⋯ Herein, we report a rare case of spontaneous pneumocephalus associated with meningitis in a patient who received conservative treatment without surgical intervention. Blood culture revealed group A streptococcus. The pneumocephalus subsided gradually with antibiotic treatment, and no neurological deficits remained. A follow-up brain computed tomography scan showed the absence of pneumocephalus, but it showed progressive hydrocephalus. The patient was discharged on the 21st day of hospitalization. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Spontaneous pneumocephalus associated with meningitis is rare. It should always raise the suspicion of meningitis and prompt suitable treatment. Emergency physicians should always be vigilant for this particular possibility on brain computed tomography.
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There are multiple reported injuries associated with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, most of them caused by the force of compressions, like sternal and rib fractures, abdominal organ injuries like splenic rupture, liver lacerations, and injuries to the upper airway and skin. Injuries related to defibrillation and cardioversion are rare, mostly related to skin and muscle injuries on where the defibrillation paddles were placed. ⋯ A 52-year-old man presented to the Emergency Department with crushing chest pain. The patient was suffering from a myocardial infarction, and during percutaneous coronary intervention, had to be defibrillated on the angioplasty table. This resulted in fracture-dislocations on both shoulders. The patient was transferred to our orthopedics clinic and was operated on within 5 days of angioplasty. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Early diagnosis and treatment are important, and can prevent long-term morbidity. However, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation are acts that are most commonly performed in the emergency department. Injury prevention by controlling the patient's position, in this case, positions of the shoulders, is an important factor that emergency physicians can control and effect.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Structured Cardiac Assessment Outperforms Visual Estimation in Novice Ultrasound Users: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Two evidence-based techniques to determine left ventricular (LV) systolic function are taught in emergency medicine curricula. The first is a "structured approach," which qualitatively evaluates LV fractional shortening, E-point septal separation, and LV diameter. The other is the "eyeball method," which qualitatively estimates the LV ejection fraction (LVEF). ⋯ Training novice ultrasound users in a structured qualitative LV assessment method was more effective than the eyeball method. Learners were able to achieve high accuracy after a brief training intervention. These results may help inform best practices for undergraduate ultrasound curriculum development.
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Although clinical decision rules exist for patients with head injuries, no tool assesses patients with unknown trauma events. Patients with uncertain trauma may have unnecessary brain imaging. ⋯ Although ICH rates among patients with uncertain head trauma was eight times lower than those with definite head trauma, the risk of ICH is high enough to warrant CT imaging of all geriatric patients with uncertain head injury.