The American journal of emergency medicine
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Adequate anesthesia for emergency department management of painful penile conditions such as paraphimosis or priapism is often both technically challenging and inconsistent using traditional landmark-based techniques of the dorsal penile block (DPB). The pudendal nerves branch to form the paired dorsal nerves of the penis providing sensory innervation to the skin of both the dorsal and ventral aspects of the penis. "Blind" DPB techniques tend to rely on subtle tactile feedback from the needle and visual landmark approximation to identify the appropriate subpubic fascial compartment for injection. The landmark-based DPB is not standardized with options including “10 o'clock and 2 o'clock” infrapubic injections with or without ventral infiltration or a ring block. ⋯ More recently, an ultrasound-guided approach has been developed. Using ultrasound, the dorsal penile nerves can be precisely targeted in the fascial compartment just deep to Buck fascia, potentially increasing block success rate and reducing the need for large local anesthetic volumes. Herein, we report the first adult case of an ultrasound-guided dorsal penile nerve block performed in the emergency department for the reduction of a paraphimosis and review the relevant penile anatomy and technical details of the procedure.
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Ozone (O₃) gas is a molecule that consists of 3 oxygen atoms, found out in the mid-19th century [1]. Ozone gas preserves humans from detrimental influences of ultraviolet radiation [1]. In spite of harmful effects of O₃ gas, investigators think that it has excessive curative effects [1]. ⋯ It is known that O₃ therapy is helpful in dental procedures, cerebrovascular diseases, tinnitus, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, hypercholesterolemia, sensorial hypoacusis, senile dementia, multiple sclerosis, irradiation sensitive tumors, herpes simplex and herpes zoster virus infections, muscular hypertonia, and chronic otitis media, etc.[2]. The complications and disadvantages of O₃ therapy could be observed in the future. Herein, we presented a case of ischemic stroke after an oxygen-O₃ therapy, which is called also Anton syndrome.
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On average, approximately 1300 Americans die of hypothermia each year. Although accidental hypothermia is commonly associated with severely cold regions or mountain accident victims, hypothermia also commonly occurs in urban centers. Contributing factors often include homelessness, mental illness, and substance abuse. ⋯ As the myocardium cools, the conduction system slows down,which results in prolongation of the QT interval as well as propensity for arrhythmias. Eventually, bradycardia, atrial fibrillation, and ventricular fibrillation (VF) can develop. The risk of cardiac arrest increases as the core temperature drops below 32°C and increases substantially when less than 28°C.
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In 2009, Florida initiated a statewide prescription drug-monitoring program (PDMP) to encourage safer prescribing of controlled substances and reduce drug abuse and diversion. Data supporting the utility of such programs in the emergency department (ED) is scarce. This study sought to determine the effect of PDMP data on controlled substance prescribing from the ED. ⋯ Although the results did not demonstrate a change in the average number of controlled substances prescribed when prescribers were provided with PDMP data, results from the survey indicate that prescribers felt the data altered their prescribing of controlled substances, and thus were more contented prescribing controlled substances.