J Emerg Med
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Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has been shown to be a powerful tool that emergency physicians can use to guide resuscitation efforts during cardiac arrest. Currently, there is no standardized curriculum to teach TEE to emergency physicians. ⋯ A TEE training course resulted in a 50% increase in surveyed participants feeling comfortable using TEE in cardiac arrest and a 40% increase in participants scoring ≥80% on a test of knowledge.
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Acetazolamide has been studied extensively in post-hypercapnic alkalosis as a tool to facilitate ventilator weaning in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It has also been utilized to facilitate respiratory drive in nonmechanically ventilated patients with COPD. Although this is generally a forgiving intervention, providers must carefully select patients for this medication, as it can cause severe acidosis and deterioration of clinical status in severe COPD cases. The present report describes two cases of patients who developed worsening acidosis and hypercapnia after receiving acetazolamide in acute respiratory failure. ⋯ Case 1 was a 72-year-old obese male with COPD who was dependent on supplemental oxygen and presented to the emergency department (ED) with acute on chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure. He was given a one-time dose of acetazolamide in the ED for "respiratory failure made worse by severe metabolic alkalosis." His arterial blood gas (ABG) worsened overnight, accompanied by decreased mental status: pH 7.32, paCO2 82 mm Hg, paO2 50 mm Hg, HCO3 41.7 mmol/L, FiO2 32% to pH 7.21, paCO2 91.7 mm Hg, paO2 59 mm Hg, HCO3 36.6 mmol/L, and FiO2 32%. Case 2 was a 62-year-old male with COPD who was dependent on supplemental oxygen and presented to the ED with acute on chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure. He was given acetazolamide in the ED with similar results: ABG on presentation pH 7.37, paCO2 79.3 mm Hg, paO2 77.6 mm Hg, HCO3 45.5 mmol/L, and FiO2 32%. The next morning, ABG was pH 7.29, paCO2 79 mm Hg, paO2 77 mm Hg, HCO3 45.5 mmol/L, and FiO2 32%. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Acetazolamide given early in the uncompensated setting can worsen acidosis and potentiate clinical deterioration.
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Case Reports
Acute Airway Inflammation Caused By Incomplete Ingestion of Extended-Release Diltiazem: A Case Report.
Diltiazem in its extended-release formulation is widely prescribed and is generally well-tolerated. Currently, there are no published case reports of localized inflammation related to extended-release diltiazem causing either significant pill esophagitis or airway inflammation when swallowed incompletely. ⋯ We present a case of an 85-year-old female who reported difficulty swallowing roughly 18 h after incomplete ingestion of an extended-release diltiazem tablet. She had mild stridor and visible right-sided neck swelling on examination. Imaging revealed a large inflammatory mass, which was believed to be a subacute to chronic neoplastic process when reviewed both by radiology and otolaryngology. Two days after presentation, however, the patient's symptoms and the inflammatory mass had resolved entirely. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Extended-release diltiazem can cause an inflammatory mass when ingested incompletely, leading to possible acute airway compromise. Any invasive airway intervention should be approached with caution, given the degree of acute inflammation. Even in patients who do not require intervention, close observation until clinical improvement is warranted in symptomatic patients with a history of recent incomplete ingestion of extended-release diltiazem.
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The Field Assessment Stroke Triage for Emergency Destination (FAST-ED) score was developed in the hospital setting to be used in the prehospital setting. It has been shown to have higher predictive value than comparable stroke scales, including the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, for identifying large vessel occlusion strokes. ⋯ The findings validate that prehospital FAST-ED scores are comparable in predictive value to FAST-ED scores calculated in the ED for prediction of large vessel occlusion strokes.