Can J Emerg Med
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To determine if 3 objective criteria - pulse oximetry, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) testing, and age - could be used to predict which children hospitalized with bronchiolitis will have brief (<36 hour) hospitalizations and therefore be potential candidates for admission to short-stay observation units. ⋯ Pulse oximetry, RSV testing and age do not predict which children will have brief hospitalizations and are appropriate candidates for admission to short-stay observation units.
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A 28-year-old male with atraumatic abdominal pain and transient hypotension was assessed using bedside emergency department (ED) ultrasonography and contrast enhanced helical computed tomography (CT). Both tests revealed free intraperitoneal fluid, but neither detected a splenic defect. ⋯ His serology for typical viral causes was negative. This article discusses spontaneous splenic rupture, the role of imaging in diagnosis, and the limitations of ED ultrasound and contrast enhanced helical CT.
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In the medical community there is a widely held belief that epinephrine should not be used with lidocaine when attempting a digital block because it will cause tissue gangrene. This belief is reinforced by several of the more prominent emergency textbooks, but a review of the medical literature fails to reveal a sound basis for this dogma.