J Emerg Med
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In April of 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a global shortage of intravenous contrast media (ICM), which led our health care system to implement rationing measures. ⋯ The dramatic reduction in ICM use that resulted from the global shortage was not associated with a change in the incidence of AKI. This reinforces the results of previous studies which have failed to find evidence of a relationship between ICM administration and AKI.
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Timely diagnosis of acute intestinal necrosis (AIN) is lifesaving, but challenging due to unclear clinical presentation. D-lactate has been proposed as an AIN biomarker. ⋯ D-lactate showed low sensitivity for AIN in both average-risk and high-risk patients. Moreover, lipemic interference precluded valid spectrophotometric assessment of D-lactate in half of the patients, further disqualifying the clinical utility of D-lactate as a diagnostic marker for AIN.
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Observational Study
Association Between Frailty and Head Impact Location After Ground-Level Fall in Older Adults.
Mild traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are highly prevalent in older adults, and ground-level falls are the most frequent mechanism of injury. ⋯ This study found an association between the level of frailty and the head impact location in older patients who sustained a ground-level fall. Our results suggest that head impact location after a fall can help physicians identify frail patients. Although not statistically significant, the prevalence of intracranial hemorrhage seems to increase with the level of frailty.