Altered Mental Status as the Primary Presentation of Intussusception in a 3-Month-Old Child Diagnosed by Point-Of-Care Ultrasonography

BackgroundIntussusception can lead to significant morbidity in affected children secondary to tissue ischemia and necrosis. When a child outside of the classic age range presents with symptoms other than intermittent abdominal pain, the diagnosis of intussusception can be difficult and is often delayed.Case ReportWe present the case of a three-month-old boy who presented to the emergency department with waxing and waning mental status and seizure-like activity who was ultimately diagnosed with intussusception. The effective use of bedside ultrasonography, by the attending pediatric radiologist, enabled an interdisciplinary team to explore abdominal etiologies in parallel with testing for more commonly seen causes of altered mental status. This led to an expedited diagnosis and successful definitive management.Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This?Intussusception is a common pediatric emergency encountered by emergency physicians where a timely diagnosis can have a profound impact on patient outcomes. Previous case reports highlight how easily intussusception can be overlooked with this atypical neurologic presentation. Furthermore, because patients with profound altered mental status are often too ill to leave the emergency department for diagnostic testing, bedside abdominal ultrasonography may be helpful in these patients.     

Atención prehospitalaria urgente de los pacientes pediátricos expuestos a tóxicos: características epidemiológico-clínicas y evaluación de la calidad asistencial

ObjectiveTo describe the characteristics of paediatric patients with suspected poisoning treated by advanced life support (ALS) units, and to evaluate quality indicators (QI) for the prehospital emergency care of these patients.MethodA one-year observational study of patients under 18 years of age exposed to poisoning and treated by an ALS unit of the Medical Emergency System in Catalonia. Severe clinical criteria were defined, with 8 QI being evaluated for prehospital emergency care of poisoned paediatric patients.ResultsThe study included a total of 254 patients, with a median age of 14 years-old (p25-75 = 7-16), with intentional poisoning in 50.8% of cases. The most frequently involved toxic agent was carbon monoxide (CO) (33.8%). Poisoning was found in 48.8% of those patients, being serious in 16.5%. Intentionally (OR 5.1; 95% CI: 1.9-13.8) and knowledge of the time of exposure (OD 3.1; 95% CI: 1.3-7.3) were independent risk factors associated with the appearance of severe clinical symptoms. Five QI did not reach the quality standard and included, availability of specific clinical guidelines, activated charcoal administration in selected patients, oxygen therapy administration at maximum possible concentration in carbon monoxide poisoning, electrocardiographic assessment in patients exposed to cardiotoxic substances, and recording of the minimum data set.ConclusionsPaediatric patients attended by ALS units showed specific characteristics, highlighting the involvement of CO and adolescents with voluntary poisoning. The QI assessment was useful to detect weak points in the quality of care of these patients and to develop strategies for improvement.     

1例射频消融术后并发肺栓塞的抢救配合及护理

总结1例射频消融术后并发肺栓塞的抢救配合及护理体会，认为肺栓塞患者一旦发生晕厥，应立即行心肺复苏，以确保有效的循环和呼吸，尽早溶栓，改善临床症状。积极的抢救、熟练的配合、良好的护理是此患者康复的关键，同时术后早期生命体征的监测、并发症的预防、合理饮食、适当活动及休息对预防肺栓塞的发生也是很重要的。     

Managing asthma in accident and emergency departments: an assessment in non teaching hospitals

Background: The management and follow-up of asthma patients presenting at Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments have mostly been studied in children's hospitals or specialised teaching hospitals. Aims: To study the adequacy of assessment, treatment and follow-up of patients presenting at A&E departments in non-teaching hospitals. Methods: A twenty-five per cent sample of presentations to A&E departments in all public hospitals in the Illawarra for one year was selected for a case note audit. Information on demographics, assessment, management and referral was extracted from the A&E case notes and medical records of cases with documentation of a final diagnosis of asthma. Chi square and Fischer's Exact tests were used for comparisons among hospitals. Results: Of 359 presentations with a final diagnosis of asthma, 88% were self referred and only 5% were first presentations. Objective measures of airways obstruction was not documented in 34% of admissions and 48% of nonadmissions. There was no documented follow-up in 28% of cases. The assessment and management of asthma in A&E was significantly poorer in smaller hospitals. Conclusion: Evidence of high use of A&E as a primary care facility by asthma patients was found in the study. There is a need to implement protocols to optimise assessment and treatment of asthma in smaller hospitals. (Aust NZ J Med 1993; 23: 672–677.).     

Quality in Clinical Practice

This paper reports the proceedings of the discussion panel assigned to look at clinical aspects of quality in emergency medicine. One of the seven stated objectives of the Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference on quality in emergency medicine was to educate emergency physicians regarding quality measures and quality improvement as essential aspects of the practice of emergency medicine. Another topic of interest was a discussion of the value of information technology in facilitating quality care in the clinical practice of emergency medicine. It is important to note that this is not intended to be a comprehensive review of this extensive topic, but instead is designed to report the discussion that occurred at this session of the consensus conference.     

便携式负压吸引装置的设计及材料学特点

对负压吸引装置便携方式的研究一直是急救医学追求的目标之一，因为它能够极大地促进急救成功率。文章基于这种需要，研制了一套便携式负压吸引装置，并根据实际应用效果，选择优化的制造材料。研制的便携式负压吸引装置主要由特殊设计的储液罐及罐盖、负压产生装置、过渡接头等部分组成，关键部件采用特殊材料制作，体积小，质量轻，操作简单，易于携带，完全能满足临床抢救及治疗的需要。作为一种急救中必不可少的器械，便携式负压吸引装置在急救伤病员运输、转运，家庭急救，及无动力源环境等情况下，对于抢救患者及提高救治效果，具有极大的竞争优势和应用前景。     

Noninvasive Intracranial Cerebral Flow Velocity Evaluation in the Emergency Department by Emergency Physicians

Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is an accepted modality for the evaluation of cerebral blood flow velocities. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of bedside TCD measurement in the emergency department (ED) with critically ill, intubated patients. METHODS: A prospective convenience sample of patients presenting to a university hospital over a two-month period underwent TCD evaluation of the middle cerebral artery. Intubated patients with head trauma and any patient requiring tracheal intubation were eligible. A 2-MHz Doppler probe was positioned over the temporal bone to acquire blood flow velocities. An emergency medicine resident and research assistant obtained measurements. Continuous TCD tracings were recorded on a video cassette recorder tape for quality assurance review and data collection. Vital signs and therapeutic interventions were also recorded. Flow velocities were measured in cm/s; the peak Resistance Index (RI) was calculated for each patient. RESULTS: A total of 30 patients were enrolled in the study. Adequate tracings were obtained in 25 patients (83%) without a disruption of resuscitation. Tracings could not be obtained in five patients; they were listed as TCD failures. However, in two of these patients, adequate flow velocity tracings were obtained after resuscitation. Four patients were evaluated during tracheal intubation. One patient was monitored successfully during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The median time required for data acquisition was 1.9 minutes. The mean highest RI for those who expired was 0.84. For those who survived, the mean highest RI was 0.52. The difference of 0.32 was statistically significant (p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Noninvasive blood flow velocity monitoring of the middle cerebral artery using TCD is feasible in the ED when performed at the bedside on intubated patients with traumatic brain injury and others during tracheal intubation and resuscitation.     

National Study of Emergency Department Visits for Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, 1993–2005

Objectives: Little is known about recent trends in U.S. emergency department (ED) visits for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) or about ED management of AECOPD. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology of ED visits for AECOPD and to evaluate concordance with guideline‐recommended care. Methods: Data were obtained from National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). ED visits for AECOPD, during 1993 to 2005, were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD‐9‐CM) codes. Concordance with guideline recommendations was evaluated using process measures. Results: Over the 13‐year study period, there was an average annual 0.6 million ED visits for AECOPD, and the visit rates for AECOPD were consistently high (3.2 per 1,000 U.S. population; P_trend = 0.13). The trends in the use of chest radiograph, pulse oximetry, or bronchodilator remained stable (all P_trend > 0.5). By contrast, the use of systemic corticosteroids increased from 29% in 1993–1994 to 60% in 2005, antibiotics increased from 14% to 42%, and methylxanthines decreased from 15% to <1% (all P_trend < 0.001). Multivariable analysis showed patients in the South (vs. the Northeast) were less likely to receive systemic corticosteroids (odds ratio [OR] = 0.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.4 to 0.9). Conclusions: The high burden of ED visits for AECOPD persisted. Overall concordance with guideline‐recommended care for AECOPD was moderate, and some emergency treatments had improved over time.