J Emerg Med
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Observational Study
Soluble Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor as a Decision Marker for Early Discharge of Patients with COVID-19 Symptoms in the Emergency Department.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (The Covid-19 pandemic) strains health care capacity. Better risk stratification, with discharge of patients with a predicted mild disease trajectory, can ease this burden. Elevated blood-soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) has previously been shown to be associated with risk of intubation in confirmed COVID-19 patients. ⋯ suPAR is a potential biomarker for triage and safe early discharge of patients with COVID-19 symptoms in the ED. suPAR can be used even before SARS-CoV-2 status is known.
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Case Reports
Detection of a Urethral Foreign Body in a Pediatric Patient: Another Useful Application of Point-of-Care Ultrasound.
Urethral foreign bodies (UFBs) are rare in pediatric emergency care, but require immediate diagnosis and intervention when they occur. Although radiography, computed tomography, and cystography are available for diagnosing UFBs, these modalities are undesirable because they involve radiation exposure. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is used as an alternative imaging modality for UFB detection in adult patients, but reports of its use in pediatric emergency departments are still scarce. We report a pediatric case of a UFB detected by POCUS. ⋯ A 10-year-old boy with a history of a learning disorder presented to our pediatric emergency department with a paper clip in his penis, which he had intentionally inserted during play. He denied any symptoms, such as abdominal pain, vomiting, and hematuria. Physical examination failed to reveal the tip of the FB, but showed a palpable mass in the penile urethra accompanied by mild tenderness in the area. POCUS demonstrated a hyperechoic structure with reverberation artifact extending to the bulbar urethra. Endoscopic removal was planned, but the tip of the FB emerged from the external urethral meatus with postural change. Manual removal was successfully performed, after which the hyperechoic structure in the urethra was no longer visible on ultrasonography. The patient was discharged on the same day of the procedure. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: POCUS is a noninvasive procedure that can be useful for detecting UFBs in children.
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Case Reports
Severe Chemosis: Initial Misdiagnosis of an Emergent Complication of Acute Rhinosinusitis.
Orbital findings such as cellulitis, ophthalmoplegia, and proptosis are possible complications of sinusitis. Acute sinusitis can also cause a conjunctival cyst-like lesion induced by severe chemosis; however, it is an uncommon complication. ⋯ We report the case of a 53-year-old man who presented to our facility's emergency department. The patient complained of orbital discomfort resulting from an inability to close both eyes, and orbital discharge, accompanied by general weakness. On physical examination, cyst-like-appearing lesions with erythema of the eyelids were identified bilaterally and initially misdiagnosed as inflammatory lesions of the orbital area. However, orbital pathology was excluded by the ophthalmologist, and it was found that the patient had bilateral pansinusitis on the imaging studies. It was suspected that the sinusitis was responsible for the ocular symptoms. The patient was treated with emergent endoscopic sinus surgery, and the symptoms were promptly relieved. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Although it is well known that orbital complications of sinusitis can occur, a conjunctival cyst-like-appearing lesion induced by severe chemosis is uncommon and is difficult to diagnose at first sight. Emergent surgical drainage is needed to prevent permanent orbital damage and other sinusitis-related complications. Therefore, recognizing the unique clinical presentation of a conjunctival cyst-like lesion resulting from severe chemosis is the key to appropriate diagnosis and management.
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Radicular low back pain is difficult to treat and commonly encountered in the Emergency Department (ED). Pain associated with acute radiculopathy results in limited ability to work, function, and enjoy life, and is associated with increased risk of chronic opioid therapy. In this case report, we describe the first ED-delivered ultrasound-guided caudal epidural steroid injection (ESI) used to treat medication-refractory lumbar radiculopathy, which resulted in immediate and sustained resolution of pain. ⋯ A 56-year old man with a past medical history of chronic lumbar radiculopathy presented to the ED with acute low back and right lower-extremity pain. Based on history and physical examination, a right L5 radiculopathy was suspected. His pain was poorly controlled despite multimodal analgesia, at which point he was offered admission or an ultrasound-guided caudal ESI. The procedure was performed using dexamethasone, preservative-free normal saline, and preservative-free 1% lidocaine solution, after which the patient reported 100% resolution of his pain and requested discharge from the ED. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? The safety and efficacy of ultrasound-guided caudal ESIs have been established, but there is a paucity of literature exploring their application in the ED. We present a case of a refractory lumbar radiculopathy successfully treated with an ultrasound-guided caudal ESI. ED-performed epidurals can be one additional tool in the emergency physician arsenal to treat acute or chronic lumbar radiculopathy.
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Commercial large-bore suction catheters and makeshift large-bore suction catheters with an endotracheal tube (ETT) attached to a meconium aspirator have been shown to have superior suction rates compared with a standard Yankauer. ⋯ The commercial large-bore suction catheter had faster suction rates than the makeshift ETTMA combination when compared with the standard Yankauer.