The American journal of emergency medicine
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Binge eating occurs in patients with eating disorders and can result in metabolic complications, leading to gastric rupture or necrosis. However, organ failure as acute renal failure is rarely observed. We report the case of an overeating episode resulting in massive gastric dilatation and acute renal failure with abdominal pressure and bilateral ureteral obstruction. The outcome was favorable with gastric aspiration and fasting.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of modified Kampala trauma score with trauma mortality prediction model and trauma-injury severity score: A National Trauma Data Bank Study.
Mortality prediction of trauma patients relies on anatomical, physiological or combined scores. The purpose of this study is to compare the diagnostic accuracy of the modified Kampala Trauma Score (M-KTS) with the Trauma Mortality Prediction Model (TMPM), and Trauma-Injury Severity Score (TRISS) using data from a large dataset from a developed registry, the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB). ⋯ M-KTS performed worse than TRISS although its' main advantage is simple use in resource-limited settings.
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Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is defined as the presence of free air in the mediastinum without any apparent concomitant factors or disease. It is uncommon but usually benign and self-limiting. Generally, patients with spontaneous pneumomediastinum are admitted to hospital, and occasionally, prophylactic antibiotics are administered to prevent mediastinitis. The purpose of this study was to describe practices concerning the feasibility of outpatient treatment and follow-up of spontaneous pneumomediastinum and the necessity of prophylactic antibiotics. ⋯ Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is a benign condition presenting primarily in young adults, with an uneventful recovery. Therefore, patients may recover from this condition without admission or the need for prophylactic antibiotics.
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Case Reports
Consideration of alternative causes of lactic acidosis: Thiamine deficiency in malignancy.
Lactic acidosis is a common metabolic acidosis characterized by increased serum lactate and is usually associated with a decreased blood pH. Lactic acidosis has many different causes but has been differentiated into type A, hypoxic causes, and type B, non-hypoxic causes. Tissue hypoxia, type A, is the most common cause, usually secondary to processes such as sepsis and multi-organ failure. ⋯ However, as most clinicians are more familiar, and likely more initially concerned with hypoxic etiologies, evaluation is directed toward finding the source of hypoperfusion or hypoxia, and thus generally leading to a delay in discovering a type B cause (or mixed type A and type B). Here we describe a case of lactic acidosis in the setting of thiamine deficiency thought to be secondary to advanced lung cancer. The purpose of this paper is to bring awareness to the clinician to consider other causes of lactic acidosis when evaluating a patient.