The American journal of emergency medicine
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A 23-month-old boy was brought to the emergency department of an adult and pediatric tertiary care center 1 hour after an inadvertent “double dose” of 120 mg flecainide (9.2 mg/kg). His electrocardiogram revealed sinus rhythm with a terminal R wave in aVR greater than 7 mm, a bifascicular block, and prolonged QRS and QTc intervals. ⋯ This case demonstrates that flecainide can cause significant cardiac conduction disturbances in doses much lower than previously described. All supratherapeutic ingestions should be assessed in hospital.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A randomized controlled trial of adding intravenous pantoprazole to conventional treatment for the immediate relief of dyspeptic pain.
Acute, severe dyspeptic pain is a common condition in the emergency department. Despite the traditional "GI cocktail" (GI indicates gastrointestinal), an intravenous (IV) proton pump inhibitor (PPI), a novel acid-lowering drug, has recently been used to treat this condition. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immediate effect of IV pantoprazole in addition to the conventional GI cocktail in the relief of severe dyspeptic pain. ⋯ Intravenous PPI provides no additional benefit over the conventional GI cocktail in the relief of acute, severe dyspeptic pain. Because of its neutral effect and higher cost, the use of IV PPI to treat such conditions should be discouraged in general clinical practice.
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Permanent decorative tattooing involves the introduction of exogenous pigments and/or dyes into the dermis to produce the permanent design. Despite improved hygiene in the tattoo parlors of Western countries, this procedure still carries risk. Various complications may occur right after tattooing, from benign complications such as transient limb edema, palpable lymph nodes, and contact eczema, to more severe ones such as the inoculation of virulent microorganisms into the dermis, potentially life-threatening cellulitis, and necrotizing fasciitis or cutaneous vasculitis. This review focuses specifically on the complications that occur within the first month of tattooing that emergency physicians may have to manage.
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Multicenter Study
Therapy and outcomes in massive pulmonary embolism from the Emergency Medicine Pulmonary Embolism in the Real World Registry.
Clinical guidelines recommend fibrinolysis or embolectomy for acute massive pulmonary embolism (PE) (MPE). However, actual therapy and outcomes of emergency department (ED) patients with MPE have not previously been reported. We characterize the current management of ED patients with MPE in a US registry. ⋯ In a contemporary registry of ED patients, MPE mortality was 4-fold higher than patients without MPE, yet only 12% of the MPE cohort received fibrinolytic therapy. Variability exists between the treatment of MPE and current recommendations.