The American journal of emergency medicine
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Current guidelines recommend blood cultures in skin and soft-tissue infection (SSTI) patients only with signs of systemic toxicity and wound cultures for severe purulent infections. Our objectives were to determine: 1) blood and wound culture yields in patients admitted with SSTIs; 2) whether injection drug users (IDUs) and febrile patients had higher blood culture yields; and 3) whether blood and wound cultures grew organisms sensitive to typical SSTI empiric antibiotics. ⋯ Febrile and IDU patients had low yields of blood cultures similar to yields in non-IDU and afebrile patients. All blood and wound culture species were adequately covered by currently recommended empiric antibiotic regimens.
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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
The possibility of the treatment for long-acting injectable antipsychotics induced severe side effects.
We present the case of a 47-year-old man with schizophrenia who developed acute and persistent circulatory failure after receiving injections of paliperidone palmitate. We measured blood concentrations of paliperidone and performed resection of hip tissues, where paliperidone palmitate was suspected to be present, in order to reduce the side effects. ⋯ We suggest that resection of the tissues suspected of containing paliperidone palmitate can help reduce its severe side effects. However, identifying the site of injection is essential.
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We report a case series of three low to intermediate risk chest pain patients who presented to the emergency department and were managed as outpatients via the Cellular Outpatient Twelve-Lead Telemetry with Emergency Response (COTTER™). This technology allows for certain chest pain patients to be managed remotely via telemedicine while receiving care comparable to that which would be available in a hospital or chest pain observation unit.
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Bystanders play a vital role in public access defibrillation (PAD) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Dual dispatch of first responders (FR) alongside emergency medical services (EMS) can reduce time to first defibrillation. The aim of this study was to describe the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in OHCAs before EMS arrival. ⋯ The use of AEDs before the arrival of EMS increased over time. This was associated with an increased 30-day survival among patients with VF. Thirty-day survival was highest when an AED was used on site before EMS arrival.