Irish medical journal
-
Spinal epidural abscess is an uncommon entity, the frequency of which is increasing. They occur spontaneously or as a complication of intervention. ⋯ Any delay in diagnosis and treatment can have significant neurological consequences. We present the case of a previously well man with a one month history of back pain resulting from an epidural abscess.
-
The objective was to study presentation patterns of scald injuries in children and suggest potential countermeasures to reduce these injuries. We retrospectively studied scald injuries in children attending an urban paediatric emergency department between January 1st and December 31st 2008. Data was extracted from our emergency department database using search terms 'burn', 'scald', 'other burn'. ⋯ Overall 45 (28%) were discharged home requiring no further treatment, 9 (6%) were admitted to hospital and 101 (63%) attended dressing clinic or plastic surgery OPD. Our results are consistent with other studies and illustrate that the incidence and pattern of scald injuries have not changed over the past decade. Scalds will continue to be a significant cause of unintentional injury and morbidity among young children unless preventative strategies are devised and employed.