The western journal of emergency medicine
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Motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) are a leading cause of injury in the United States (U.S.). Detailed knowledge of MVC eye injuries presenting to U.S. emergency departments (ED) will aid clinicians in diagnosis and management. The objective of the study was to describe the incidence, risk factors, and characteristics of non-fatal motor vehicle crash-associated eye injuries presenting to U.S. EDs from 2001 to 2008. ⋯ This study reports a decline in the annual incidence of ED-treated MVC-associated eye injuries. The risk of MVC eye injury is greatest among males, 15 to 19 year olds and African Americans.
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Case Reports
Color Doppler ultrasound-guided supraclavicular brachial plexus block to prevent vascular injection.
Ultrasound-guided nerve blocks are quickly becoming integrated into emergency medicine practice for pain control and as an alternative to procedural sedation. Common, but potentially catastophic errors have not been reported outside of the anesthesiology literature. Evaluation of the brachial plexus with color Doppler should be standard for clinicians performing a supraclavicular brachial plexus block to determine ideal block location and prevention of inadvertant intravascular injection.
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Superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome is most commonly the insidious result of decreased vascular flow through the SVC due to malignancy, spontaneous thrombus, infections, and iatrogenic etiologies. Clinical suspicion usually leads to computed tomography to confirm the diagnosis. ⋯ With the growing implementation of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), clinicians may make critical diagnoses rapidly and safely. We present a case of SVC syndrome due to extensive thrombosis of the deep venous system cephalad to the SVC diagnosed by POCUS.
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When a psychiatric patient in the emergency department requires inpatient admission, but no bed is available, they may become a "boarder." The psychiatric emergency service (PES) has been suggested as one means to reduce psychiatric boarding, but the frequency and characteristics of adult PES boarders have not been described. ⋯ Boarding is common in the PES, and boarders have substantial psychiatric morbidity requiring treatment during extended PES stays. We question the appropriateness of PES boarding for seriously ill psychiatric patients.
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Because lack of inpatient capacity is associated with emergency department (ED) crowding, more efficient bed management could potentially alleviate this problem. Our goal was to assess the impact of involving a patient placement manager (PPM) early in the decision to hospitalize ED patients. The PPMs are clinically experienced registered nurses trained in the institution-specific criteria for correct unit and bed placement. ⋯ Inclusion of the PPM in a three-way handoff conversation between emergency physicians and hospitalist providers significantly decreased the number of "lateral transfers." Moreover, adding status determination and portable phones for emergency physicians improved the efficiency of the process and was associated with a 49 (12%) minute decrease in LOS for admitted patients.