The American journal of emergency medicine
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Observational Study
Invasive arterial blood pressure monitoring may aid in the medical management of hypertensive patients with acute aortic disease.
Blood pressure (BP) monitoring and management is essential in the treatment of acute aortic disease (AoD). Previous studies had shown differences between invasive arterial BP monitoring (ABPM) and non-invasive cuff BP monitoring (CBPM), but not whether ABPM would result in patients' change of clinical management. We hypothesized that ABPM would change BP management in AoD patients. ⋯ ABPM was frequently higher than CBPM, resulting in 34% of changes of management, most commonly increasing anti-hypertensive infusion rates.
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Case Reports
Systemic toxicity from subcutaneous brimonidine injection successfully treated with naloxone: A case report.
Brimonidine is a topical ophthalmic alpha-2 adrenergic agonist solution used to treat glaucoma. The toxidrome includes drowsiness, lethargy, hypotension, bradycardia, and respiratory depression when ingested in infants. We report a case of intentional subcutaneous injection of brimonidine in an elderly patient resulting in hypotension and CNS depression that responded to naloxone. ⋯ Brimonidine SQ injection has not previously been reported and this case has similar findings to other central alpha-2 adrenergic agonist poisonings. Naloxone has previously shown variable reversal of CNS depression in central alpha-2 overdose. In this case, high-dose naloxone was useful for reversing CNS depression and hemodynamic instability.
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Billions of travelers pass through airports around the world every year. Airports are a relatively common location for sudden cardiac arrest when compared with other public venues. An increased incidence of cardiac arrest in airports may be due to the large volume of movement, the stress of travel, or adverse effects related to the physiological environment of airplanes. ⋯ Large numbers of people, a high density of public-access AEDs, and on-site emergency medical services (EMS) resources are probably the major reasons why cardiac arrest outcomes are so favorable at airports. The success of the chain of survival found at airports may imply that applying similar practices to other public venues will translate to improvements in cardiac arrest survival. Airports might, therefore, be one model of cardiac arrest preparedness that other public areas should emulate.
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Lithium is considered a mood stabilizer for bipolar affective disorders, but it has a narrow therapeutic index of 0.6-1.2 mEq/L. This can easily result in toxic levels after minimal changes in renal function or individual patient's pharmacokinetics. Lithium toxicity can arise with levels as low as 1.5 mEq, and there are limited therapeutic options to treat these patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). ⋯ However, SPS has been associated with intestinal necrosis and may cause treatment limiting hypokalemia, and is therefore not commonly recommended in treatment algorithms for lithium toxicity. A newer cation exchange resin, sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (SZC), may provide a safer alternative to SPS while also aiding in the clearance of lithium. We present a patient case where a patient with symptomatic acute-on-chronic lithium toxicity had increased clearance of lithium after a dose of SZC.