The American journal of emergency medicine
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We report a case of rhabdomyolysis temporally related to the ingestion of a large amount of kava. Kava is a naturally occurring plant used in the United States and elsewhere in the world for its sedative properties. ⋯ It is not clear whether this is an action of the kava itself, perhaps, due to its action on voltage ion channels or, perhaps, due to an adulterant in the product. Our patient developed peak creatine phosphokinase levels in excess of 30 000 U/L but had no significant renal damage.
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The objective of this study is to determine the rate of intra-abdominal injury (IAI) in adults with blunt abdominal trauma after a normal abdominal computed tomographic (CT) scan. We hypothesize that the risk of subsequent IAI is so low that hospital admission and observation for possible IAI are unnecessary. ⋯ Adult patients with blunt torso trauma and normal abdominal CT scans are at low risk for subsequently identified IAI. Thus, hospitalization for evaluation of possible IAI after a normal abdominal CT scan is unnecessary in most cases.
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With recent advances in radiologic diagnostic procedures, the use of diagnostic peritoneal lavage (DPL) has markedly declined. In this study, we reviewed data to reevaluate the role of DPL in the diagnosis of hollow organ perforation in patients with blunt abdominal trauma. ⋯ For patients with blunt abdominal trauma and hemoperitoneum who plan to receive nonoperative management, DPL is still a useful tool to exclude hollow organ perforation that is undetected by CT.
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Our objective was to determine if implementing a standard lights and sirens (L&S) protocol would reduce their use and if this had any effect on patient disposition. ⋯ Our protocol significantly reduced the use of L&S. Judicious use of L&S has significant implications for transport safety. By allowing for selective transport with L&S usage, we observed no impact in patient disposition.