Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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Epidural sacral nerve compression as an initial feature of leukaemia is a rare complication. The findings in a 16-year-old boy who presented to an emergency department with symptoms of faecal incontinence are reported herein. ⋯ The diagnosis of acute myeloid leukaemia was confirmed on bone marrow aspirate. The characteristics and management of extramedullary leukaemia are discussed.
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Comparative Study
Airway Scope versus Macintosh laryngoscope: a manikin study.
To compare the performance of the Airway Scope for tracheal intubation with that of the Macintosh laryngoscope for direct laryngoscopy. ⋯ The Airway Scope performed as well as and perhaps better than the Macintosh laryngoscope when used on a manikin.
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A case of death from severe paracetamol poisoning which presented early and received appropriate treatment according to evidence-based guidelines is presented here. It is very rare for patients to die from paracetamol poisoning when they receive N-acetylcysteine (NAC) within 8 h of ingestion. The patient had a marked lactic acidosis on presentation to hospital. This case demonstrates that a patient can die from paracetamol poisoning despite early and appropriate treatment, and raises the question whether lactic acidosis in a patient following paracetamol overdose should prompt the initiation of NAC treatment while awaiting paracetamol levels.
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To determine the optimal cut-off values of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) for the diagnosis of congestive heart failure (CHF) in 1040 Korean patients with dyspnoea visiting emergency departments. ⋯ The BNP concentration used for the diagnosis of CHF in Korean people is considerably higher than the normal cut-off value of 100 pg/mL. In the non-CHF patients, the BNP values of women were influenced less by underlying disease. This suggests that the factors that influence BNP values in women are different from those in men.