Articles: emergency-department.
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Review Case Reports
Ophthalmic Presentation in the Emergency Department: A Case Report of a Girl With "Shimmering Eyes"
Ophthalmic complaints are commonplace in the emergency department (ED) and are often initial presentations of a systemic illness. We present a 2-year-old girl presenting to the ED with ataxia and "shimmering" eyes. ⋯ The patient was diagnosed with opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome (OMS) involving involuntary, multi-vectorial (mostly horizontal), conjugate fast eye movements without intersaccadic intervals. The ophthalmic presentation led to a paraneoplastic work-up, which revealed an abdominal mass measuring 5.3 × 3.3 × 4.3 cm, suggestive of neuroblastoma. The patient's opsoclonus improved after a 5-day course of dexamethasone and intravenous immunoglobulin. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: This case illustrates the importance of recognizing pathognomonic ophthalmic complaints in the ED. We present an overview of classic ophthalmic presentations associated with systemic illnesses.
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Eur Heart J Acute Cardiovasc Care · Jun 2014
Multicenter Study Observational StudyAdditive diagnostic and prognostic value of bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) to brain natriuretic peptide 'grey-zone' in patients with acute heart failure in the emergency department.
Few data are available on diagnostic and prognostic role of quantitative fluid retention evaluated by bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) in acute heart failure (AHF) patients at the moment of emergency department presentation. ⋯ While in the overall population BIVA did not increase diagnostic accuracy provided by BNP, in AHF patients a quantitative evaluation of fluid congestion obtained by BIVA at the time of emergency department arrival provides significant additive diagnostic and 30-day prognostic value to BNP, particularly in the BNP 'grey-zone'. This could lead to a better management of these patients with possible improvement in reducing subsequent cardiovascular events.
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Observational Study
Rapid Response Team Activations Within 24 Hours of Admission From the Emergency Department: An Innovative Approach for Performance Improvement.
Performance improvement programs in emergency medicine (EM) have evolved beyond peer reviews of referred cases and now encompass a large set of quality metrics that are measured proactively. However, peer review of cases continues to be an important element of performance improvement, and selection of cases tends to be driven by an ad hoc referral process based on concerns about problems with care in the emergency department (ED). In the past decade, there has been widespread hospital adoption of rapid response teams (RRTs) that respond to patients who decline clinically to reduce adverse outcomes. In an effort to cast a wider net, to take a more systematic approach, and to avoid "blind spots" from individual variability in criteria for referring cases, the institution instituted a new process for selecting cases for ED peer review based on RRT activations within 24 hours of admission from the ED. The hypothesis was that a formal process for review of these activation cases would increase the number of cases for peer review. ⋯ The review of RRT activations within 24 hours of admission from the ED significantly supplemented the typical ad hoc referral system for peer review of cases, highlighting cases that likely would not have received attention within the ED. This novel and unique case review process revealed opportunities for education and performance improvement. This and other systematic approaches to case detection may be useful adjuncts to traditional case referrals for review.
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To compare the guidelines in the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) acute asthma management protocol with actual practice in the Accident and Emergency Department. ⋯ Acute asthma management still remains an area of medical practice that continues to have long-standing difficulties. Failure to assess and document the severity of asthma attacks along with the under-utilization of PEFR was noted.
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We assess whether screening laboratory tests obtained to medically clear pediatric psychiatric patients altered management or disposition. ⋯ Screening laboratory tests resulted in few management and disposition changes in patients with noncontributory history and physical examination results but were associated with increased length of stay.