J Emerg Med
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In trauma patients, particularly with head immobilization, tracheal intubation without the use of a stylet may be impossible. ⋯ This potentially life-threatening event may go unnoticed after intubation if the endotracheal tube is not obstructed by the fragment. Gentle withdrawal of the stylet from the tube is essential to avoid stylet fracture. Careful examination of the stylet after intubation may suggest a stylet fracture.
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Biography Historical Article
Richard Lower: the origins of blood transfusion.
Millions of blood transfusions are performed yearly worldwide. With respect to its historical origins, this practice began in the 17(th) century with an English physician. In 1666, Richard Lower reported the first successful transfusion between animals. ⋯ However, the practice was subsequently abandoned for hundreds of years. Safe transfusion awaited the recognition of blood types and cross-matching, and did not occur until early in the 20(th) century. A number of other advances in transfusion therapy have followed, and more are in development.
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The survival of in-hospital cardiac arrest (8-25%) has not changed substantially in the past. Until now, most hospitals in Germany had no standardized protocols available for a course of action in case of emergency, and there are no continuous registry data for in-hospital cardiac arrest and survival. ⋯ The first-responder AED program successfully gave training lessons to the hospital staff. The training included how to initiate the cardiac arrest call, how to use the AED, and how to start immediate resuscitation. As a result, a higher survival rate after in-hospital cardiac arrest can be accomplished.
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Pneumocephalus is rare, mostly arising as a complication of surgery, trauma, infection, or neoplasm. ⋯ Although usually asymptomatic, pneumocephalus can lead to tension pneumocephalus, a potentially fatal condition, or septic meningitis, if it is the result of infection from gas-producing bacteria.
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Although many complications of intravenous drug abuse are well described, "cotton fever" has had little mention in recent medical literature. Cotton fever is street terminology for the post-injection fever experienced by many drug users after "shooting up" with heroin reclaimed from a previously used cotton filter. ⋯ Although it is usually a benign situation, cotton fever can have a dramatic clinical and hematologic course. We present a typical case of cotton fever followed by a description of the pathophysiology and clinical presentation of this entity.