J Emerg Med
-
Transvenous pacemaker placement is an integral component of therapy for severe dysrhythmias and a core skill in emergency medicine. ⋯ An understanding of transvenous pacemaker placement is essential for emergency clinicians.
-
Medical equipment can become scarce in disaster scenarios. Prior work has reported that four sheep could be ventilated together on a single ventilator. Others found that this maneuver is possible when needed, but no one has yet investigated whether cross-contamination occurs in co-ventilated individuals. ⋯ Cross-contamination does not occur within 24 h using the described ventilator circuit configuration.
-
As emergency physicians are looking at handheld devices as alternatives to the traditional, cart-based systems, concerns center around whether they are forsaking image quality for a lower price point and whether the handheld can be trusted for medical decision making. ⋯ Data support that it is feasible to use the handheld ultrasound device for evaluation of the trauma patient in place of the cart-based system.
-
In the emergency department (ED), pyelonephritis is a fairly common diagnosis, especially in patients with unilateral flank pain. Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis (XGP) is a rare type of pyelonephritis that is associated with unique features, which may lead to its diagnosis. ⋯ A 30-year-old male patient presented to the ED for evaluation of right-sided abdominal pain that has been ongoing for the past 24 hours. He noted the pain was located predominantly in the right flank and described it as sharp in nature. The pain was nonradiating and was associated with scant hematuria. He stated that he had similar pains approximately 1 month earlier that resolved after a few days. The patient underwent a bedside ultrasound and a subsequent computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen and pelvis, which showed an enlarged, multiloculated right kidney with dilated calyces and a large staghorn calculus, findings that represent XGP. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: This case report highlights an unusual variant of pyelonephritis, a relatively common ED diagnosis. XGP should be considered in patients with recurrent pyelonephritis, as treatment for XGP may require surgical intervention in addition to traditional antibiotic management.
-
Bacteremia is a major cause of morbidity. Blood cultures are the gold standard for diagnosing bacteremia. ⋯ In this cohort, mShapiro's rule performed better than the SIRS criteria at predicting bacteremia.