J Emerg Med
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Restrictive regulations and the increased price of opioids have resulted in the addition of impurities to illicit opioids by drug dealers. Among the adulterants, lead salts are optimal agents to make packages heavier. Consequently, lead toxicity has emerged in the opioid-user population. ⋯ The clinical presentation of opioid lead intoxication can vary from rather asymptomatic to severely debilitating gastrointestinal or neurologic symptoms. The diagnosis is made by checking lead blood levels after obviating other critical diagnoses and should be considered in each drug user in endemic regions of opioid addiction, such as the Middle East. Management protocols are suggested to cover both features of opioid-related complications and lead toxicity.
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Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is an adoptive cellular immunotherapy that is being utilized more frequently due to its initial success in advanced-stage cancers. Unfortunately, CAR T-cell therapy is often associated with acute systemic toxicities, including cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and CAR T-cell-associated neurotoxicity (neurotoxicity). ⋯ With the increasing administration of CAR T-cell therapy, emergency physicians will likely encounter more patients with associated adverse events, including CRS and neurotoxicity. It is increasingly important that emergency physicians are aware of these potential toxicities in order to rapidly diagnose and treat patients undergoing CAR T-cell therapy.
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Plant poisonings are uncommon in adults, and rarely fatal. Oenantha crocata is a toxic plant growing in the humid grasslands of North America and Western Europe. ⋯ We report here two adults who ingested Oenantha crocata roots, having mistaken them for edible tuberous radish. One developed vomiting and needed only 24 h symptomatic treatment, whereas the other suffered prolonged convulsions, cardiac arrest, and severe metabolic acidosis, leading to a fatal outcome. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Cases of poisoning with Oenantha crocata are rare and destabilizing. With increased interest in "natural" foods and team building by survival training, medical teams should be aware of the management for such poisoning.
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In this case, a mobile medical ID was used to inform an off-duty clinician of highly relevant medical history when attending a pedestrian during a medical emergency. Mobile medical IDs are available on all major smartphone operating systems and provide information including, but not limited to, medical history, current medications, and allergy status. These can be accessed from lock screens, allowing access for off-duty clinicians to improve the quality of care they could provide while awaiting assistance.
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Patellar dislocations are a common orthopedic emergency with several variants. The rarer variants include rotational dislocations. These often require open reduction in the operating room. ⋯ We report on a case of a combined rotational and lateral patellar dislocation in a young female. We suspected and made the diagnosis of a rotational dislocation after initial unsuccessful attempts at reduction under sedation. With the assistance of our orthopedic colleagues, we were able to perform a reduction of this patient's patella under sedation in the emergency department. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Awareness of uncommon patellar dislocations is an important area of knowledge for the emergency physician. A thorough understanding of indications and contraindications to closed reduction is important for efficient and safe management and disposition. Collaboration with orthopedic surgery colleagues is another important step in the evaluation of these patients.