Curēus
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In Dec 2019, a novel pathogen emerged, and within weeks, led to the emergence of the biggest global health crises seen to date. The virus called 'SARS-CoV-2', causes coronavirus disease which was named 'COVID-19' by the World Health Organization (WHO). The speedy spread of this infection globally became a source of public worry and several unknowns regarding this new pathogen created a state of panic. ⋯ Mass media has an imperative role in today's world and it can provide a unified platform for all public health communications, comprehensive healthcare education guidelines, and robust social distancing strategies while still maintaining social connections. It can enable equal access to healthcare, end discrimination, and social stigmatization. The role of media and public health communications must be understood and explored further as they will be an essential tool for combating COVID-19 and future outbreaks.
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Case Reports
Turquoise Discoloration of Organs on Autopsy Secondary to Treatment of Septic Shock With Methylene Blue.
Septic shock can result from the dissemination of infections and can lead to hypoperfusion secondary to vasodilation. Methylene blue can help stabilize blood pressure refractory to other measures in shock. ⋯ Autopsy findings were significant for bluish-green discoloration of organs, especially the heart, lungs, and brain during prosection secondary to methylene blue treatment. It is important to recognize artifacts of treatment and to discern them from changes due to putrefaction or the classic green pigmentation associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, such as chloronychia. The case report illustrates that circulating methylene blue and its metabolites can accumulate in the organs in a dose-related fashion, imparting an interesting turquoise to dark blue-green pigment during the autopsy. Additional studies are warranted to enable pathologists to differentiate among the pigmentation associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremia, putrefaction, and methylene blue treatment.
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Wellen's syndrome is a pattern on ECG that signifies impending acute myocardial infarction (MI) of the proximal left anterior descending (LAD) artery. This same pattern can also be noted in several benign diseases that may mimic Wellen's syndrome. Here we discuss a 36-year-old patient with no cardiac risk factors who presented with typical angina shortly after smoking marijuana. ⋯ Soon after, the patient was diagnosed with Pseudo-Wellen's syndrome secondary to cannabis use. This case report highlights the importance of identifying causes that may resemble Wellen's syndrome, especially in young adults without risk factors for acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Recognizing these cases can help avoid further invasive diagnostic testing, along with the complications that may go along with it.
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Case Reports
Acute Upper Limb Ischemia Due To Arterial Thrombosis in a Mild COVID-19 Patient: A Case Report.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which has now been declared a global pandemic, initially began as a pneumonia caused by novel coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wuhan, China. COVID-19, in addition to respiratory symptoms, is also being recognized to have different manifestations including myocardial infarction, seizures, meningitis, diarrhea, and coagulopathy. Here we report a case of a 75-year-old female patient with mild COVID-19 who later developed acute limb ischemia due to arterial thrombosis to highlight that, contrary to the association of coagulopathy with severe COVID-19, thrombosis can also occur in patients with mild COVID-19.
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Introduction Emergency Department (ED) boarding delays initiation of time-sensitive protocols for trauma patients and makes them susceptible to increased mortality and morbidity. In this study, we compared the ED boarding times of non-trauma patients and ED length of stay (LOS) of trauma patients. Methods This was a single-center retrospective cohort study in a Level 1 trauma center. ⋯ There was a significant positive correlation between boarding time for non-trauma patients and ED LOS for trauma patients (Pearson correlation coefficient: 0.73; p = 0.007). Conclusion The long boarding times for non-trauma patients is associated with ED LOS for trauma patients, indicating that the total patient volume in the hospital contributes to the trauma patient's stay in the ED. Thus, ED LOS of trauma patients can be minimized by improving overall ED and hospital flow, including non-trauma patients.