J Emerg Med
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The Shock Index (SI) is emerging as a potentially useful measure among children with injury or suspected sepsis. ⋯ An elevated SI is indicative of greater resource utilization needs among children in the ED. When using any criteria, an elevated SI was associated with clinically important outcomes. Further research is required to evaluate the distribution of the SI in children and to investigate its potential role within existing triage algorithms for children in the ED.
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The changing hospital business model has raised ethical issues for emergency physicians (EPs) in a healthcare system that often prioritizes profits over patient welfare. For-profit hospitals, driven by profit motives, may prioritize treating patients with lucrative insurance plans and those who can afford expensive treatments. Private equity investors, who now own many for-profit hospitals, focus on short-term financial gains, leading to cost-cutting measures and pressure on EPs to prioritize financial goals over patient welfare. Nonprofit hospitals, mandated to provide charity care to the underserved, may fail to meet their community service obligations, resulting in disparities in healthcare access. ⋯ Emergency physicians must navigate these ethical issues while upholding professional ethics and advocating for patients' best interests. Collaboration with hospital administrators, policymakers, and stakeholders is vital to address these concerns and prioritize patient welfare in healthcare delivery.
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Idiopathic carotidynia, also known as transient perivascular inflammation of the carotid artery (TIPIC) syndrome, is a rare, self-limited, clinical-radiologic entity. Over the years, the diagnosis of carotidynia has been controversial, but recent pathologic, radiologic, clinical, and laboratory findings support an inflammatory etiology. ⋯ A 61-year-old woman with a history of hypertension, left lower extremity liposarcoma, and right internal jugular port placement 2 weeks prior with initiation of chemotherapy presented to the emergency department with right neck pain and swelling of the lateral neck and lower face for the past 3 days. Computed tomography-neck with IV contrast revealed marked mural thickening of the right common carotid artery, which can be seen with carotidynia (Fay syndrome and TIPIC syndrome) and vasculitis. The patient had elevated inflammatory markers and was treated clinically for carotidynia with ibuprofen, evaluated by vascular surgery, and discharged home. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: The causes of acute neck pain are diverse, ranging from nonemergent to surgically emergent etiologies. As radiologists and emergency physicians, we believe TIPIC syndrome is a rare entity with important clinical impact deserving attention, as it is not typically included in medical training and is usually learned only through years of clinical experience and practice. TIPIC syndrome requires a unique combination of both clinical and radiologic findings to diagnose accurately and appropriately. It is important to be familiar with this diagnosis because treatment is focused on symptomatic relief without the need for invasive procedures. Our goal was to increase awareness of this uncommon diagnosis to improve patient care by preventing unnecessary invasive procedures and aid in timely and accurate diagnosis.
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Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) has high mortality. Early identification of high-risk factors that may progress to SAP and active intervention measures may improve the prognosis of SAP patients. ⋯ Age, BMI, non-HTGAP, WBC, PCT, serum Ca and CTSI≥4 have good predictive value for SAP.
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Asthma, the most common chronic disease of childhood, can affect a child's physical and mental health and social and emotional development. ⋯ Several variables seem to be associated with statistically significant increased odds of ED return visits. These findings indicate a potentially identifiable population of at-risk patients who may benefit from additional evaluation, planning, or education prior to discharge.