Annals of emergency medicine
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To assess the diagnostic value of abdominal and pelvic ultrasound to the emergency physician, we followed 43 patients who required ultrasound out of 1,010 patients who presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain and/or vaginal bleeding during the 33-week study period. Ultrasound confirmed the preliminary diagnosis in 12 patients, was supportive in eight patients, and ruled out the preliminary diagnosis in 23 patients. Ultrasound often shortened the evaluation process by narrowing the differential diagnosis or by excluding potentially serious conditions, thus eliminating the need for additional testing and frequently allowing for safe discharge of the patient. We found ultrasound to be helpful, as well as cost-effective, in certain patients with abdominal pain and/or vaginal bleeding in whom an emergency department evaluation without ultrasound could not exclude a condition necessitating admission or urgent surgery.
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A patient at 42 weeks of pregnancy called the emergency department complaining of painful uterine contractions for six hours. She was advised to come to the hospital immediately. An episode of vomiting caused a 60-minute delay in her arrival. ⋯ Resuscitation attempts and agonal caesarean section failed. Autopsy revealed massive pulmonary amniotic fluid emboli. Amniotic fluid embolus must be considered in the differential diagnosis of pregnant patients with complaints of shortness of breath and signs of shock with bradycardia.
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Conjunctival (PciO2) and transcutaneous (PtcO2) oxygen tensions were serially measured during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Changes in cardiac function and arterial oxygen content were reflected accurately by alterations in PciO2 and PtcO2. PciO2 showed more rapid responses to changes in physiologic state than did PtcO2. Conjunctival and transcutaneous oxygen sensors gave continuous information with respect to oxygen delivery during CPR, and provided real-time assessment of the effectiveness of CPR in terms of peripheral perfusion and tissue oxygenation.
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Standard cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has been thought to produce approximately 30% of the usual resting cardiac output. Further increase of blood flow to vital organs may increase chances of resuscitation and decrease likelihood of permanent, residual central nervous system or cardiac damage. Various methods have been promoted, most requiring equipment not available to bystanders and time to initiate once advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) providers have necessary equipment at hand. ⋯ We alternated periods of CPR versus IAC-CPR measuring femoral and radial or brachial pressures in six subjects, and found a 50% increase in MAP (from 26 to 39 mm Hg). Central venous pressures (CVP) were measured in one subject and, using MAP minus mean CVP to determine mean perfusion pressure, we found a 37% increase (from 19 mm Hg to 26 mm Hg). We propose that IAC-CPR may be a significant improvement in basic CPR if these studies are reproducible in resuscitable patients.