1/44. Expeditious diagnosis of primary prosthetic valve failure.Primary prosthetic valve failure is a catastrophic complication of prosthetic valves. Expeditious diagnosis of this complication is crucial because survival time is minutes to hours after valvular dysfunction. The only life-saving therapy for primary prosthetic valve failure is immediate surgical intervention for valve replacement. Because primary prosthetic valve failure rarely occurs, most physicians do not have experience with such patients and appropriate diagnosis and management may be delayed. A case is presented of a patient with primary prosthetic valve failure. This case illustrates how rapidly such a patient can deteriorate. This report discusses how recognition of key findings on history, physical examination, and plain chest radiography can lead to a rapid diagnosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical examination, physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/44. Traumatic fracture of the hyoid bone: three case presentations of cardiorespiratory compromise secondary to missed diagnosis.hyoid bone fractures secondary to blunt trauma other than strangulation are rare (ML Bagnoli et al., J Oral Maxillofac Surg 1988; 46: 326-8), accounting for only 0.002 per cent of all fractures. The world literature reports only 21 cases. Surgical intervention involves airway management, treatment of associated pharyngeal perforations, and management of painful symptomatology. The importance of hyoid fracture, however, rests not with the rarity of it, but with the lethal potential of missed diagnosis. We submit three cases with varying presentations and management strategies. All three of our cases incurred injury by blunt trauma to the anterior neck. Two patients required emergent surgical airway after unsuccessful attempts at endotracheal intubation. One patient presented without respiratory distress and was managed conservatively. After fracture, the occult compressive forces of hematoma formation and soft tissue swelling may compromise airway patency. It is our clinical observation that hypoxia develops rapidly and without warning, leading to cardiorespiratory collapse. With endotracheal intubation prohibited by obstruction, a surgical airway must be established and maintained. Recognition of subtle clinical and physical findings are critical to the diagnosis of laryngotracheal complex injuries and may be life-saving in many instances. To ensure a positive outcome, a strong degree of suspicion based on mechanism of injury is mandated.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.1112250122051keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/44. Periaortic contrast medium extravasation on chest CT in traumatic aortic injury: a sign for immediate thoracotomy.Traumatic aortic injury (TAI) after blunt chest trauma is potentially a lethal condition. The injury must be diagnosed promptly and accurately. Evaluation for traumatic aortic injury begins with an assessment of mechanism of injury, a physical examination and chest radiography. In recent years, chest computed tomography (CT) has been advocated as a better screening tool to detect TAI but there is still controversial over the confirmatory diagnostic value of CT. For hemodynamically unstable patients in whom chest CT had shown direct sign of aortic injury and with periaortic contrast medium extravasation, we advocate that these patients should be operated on immediately without aortogram to avoid unnecessary delay. Herein, we describe a case of TAI with direct signs and periaortic contrast extravasation and discuss if chest CT can substitute an aortogram as a diagnostic tool when direct signs of TAI are revealed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical examination, physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/44. Expanding the differential diagnosis of the acute scrotum: ventriculoperitoneal shunt herniation.An 18-month-old boy presented to the emergency department after 4 hours of inconsolability and acute scrotal swelling. The physical examination revealed a new scrotal hydrocele with migration of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt into the right hemiscrotum. The presence of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt has been associated with increased patency of the processus vaginalis and scrotal hydroceles. The presentation of an acute scrotum in a child with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt should be recognized as a possible shunt complication. Migration of the shunt through the processus vaginalis is an extremely uncommon event.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical examination, physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/44. Leukaemia presenting as respiratory distress in a child with asthma.asthma is the most common reason for children to present to an emergency department complaining of shortness of breath. The diagnosis, based on one or more of a positive history of atopy, physical examination findings consistent with reactive airways disease, and a clinical response to bronchodilator therapy is usually straightforward. It is important however, to consider other diagnoses, particularly when patients present differently from that which has previously been documented and/or have unexplained physical findings.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.1112250122051keywords = physical examination, physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/44. Venous air embolism during home infusion therapy.Venous air embolism (VAE) is a potential complication of surgical procedures as well as central venous access. There are several reports in the literature of VAE during the in-hospital use and placement of central venous access. However, we are unaware of previous cases of VAE in children who received home infusion therapy via central venous access. We report the occurrence of a VAE in a 2-year-old with a Broviac catheter for home intravenous antibiotic therapy. VAE occurred when a bolus of air was unintentionally administered as the mother removed the cassette from the pump when it was alarming air in line. The cassette and tubing had been placed into the pump without a fluid flush. After the tubing and cassette were removed from the pump, the air in the line was allowed to flow by gravity into the patient, resulting in the immediate onset of respiratory and neurologic symptoms. The mother administered 2 rescue breaths, and the child's color and breathing returned to normal over the next 2 minutes. After the child arrived in the emergency department, the child's mental status returned to normal and the remainder of her physical examination was unremarkable. She had an uneventful recovery and was discharged from the hospital the following day. Additional antibiotic administration was accomplished in the emergency department of a local hospital. VAE can occur spontaneously when there is an open venous structure 5 cm or more above the heart or if air is delivered under pressure into the venous system, such as during a laparoscopy or mishaps with infusion bags. The morbidity and mortality of VAE are related to the volume of air, rate of entrainment, the patient's underlying cardiorespiratory status, and the patient's position. morbidity and mortality occur as a consequence of right ventricular outflow obstruction or end-organ dysfunction from left-sided obstruction of coronary or cerebral vasculature as air passes across a patent foramen ovale or through the pulmonary circulation. Of all the literature pertaining to VAE with central lines, there are no previous reports of VAE occurring during home infusion therapy in children. With managed care requiring shorter hospitalizations and more children being discharged from the hospital on home infusion therapy, parents and lay caregivers are being asked to administer medications and perform routine maintenance on central venous devices. In our case, despite the fact that the mother had been educated regarding the appropriate technique for medication administration, she forgot to purge the air from the line before connecting the tubing and administering the antibiotic. Although the infusion pump will alarm when there is air in the line, it detects air only in a small part of the line and this safety feature is not in play if the device is removed from the infusion pump and administered via gravity. If such safety precautions are not adhered to, then the volume of air that fills the intravenous tubing from the drip chamber to the patient (25-30 mL in the pediatric infusion pump tubing used in our patient) can be infused by gravity into the patient's venous system. Because the consequences of VAE are so severe, the focus should be on prevention. Pumps used for home infusion therapy should have appropriate alarms to alert caregivers to the presence of air in the line. Obviously, this will not totally prevent this complication as this type of pump was used in our patient. It is crucial to educate caregivers of patients with central venous access regarding the hazards of VAE and safety measures to prevent it. With the increased use of home infusion therapy, ongoing evaluations of complications related to this form of therapy are mandatory so that there is continued evaluation of practices and appropriate changes made when necessary to increase further the safety of these techniques.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical examination, physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/44. Subarachnoid haemorrhage: a clinical overview.Subarachnoid haemorrhage affects up to 9,000 people a year in the UK (Lindsay and Bone 1997) and is a devastating condition. Although many patients make a good physical recovery, some are left with cognitive and perceptual deficits. Early rehabilitation and support is essential, and caring for these patients and their families is a major challenge for nurses.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.1112250122051keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/44. Understanding the patient in emergency.Psychological care should be integrated with physical care even when one works in a busy 'acute care' environment, be it an emergency department, an intensive care unit, or at the roadside as a member of the ambulance team. The quality of care is enhanced by awareness of psychological needs. Initially a conscious effort is needed to remember to have cues verified and to be open to noting subtle changes in behavior. If a continuous effort is made by each health team member, this verification process will become automatic without being time-consuming. All members of the health team must be aware that they are individuals with a multiplicity of factors affecting their thinking, feeling and behavior. They care for individuals who are also unique. A form of support proving successful with one patient may not be effective with another. Each patient must be assessed as an individual before appropriate psychological care can be effectively given. By being open to cues given by the patient and his relatives, and by having perceptions of these cues verified, an important step is taken in deciding on appropriate psychological care. With an increased awareness of the total psychological impact of the 'emergency' situation on the patient, his relatives--in fact, on the entire health team--individualized patient care will be administered in a more thorough and understanding way.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.1112250122051keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/44. A rare case of salmonella-mediated sacroiliitis, adjacent subperiosteal abscess, and myositis.We report the case of a 16-year-old female who was ultimately diagnosed with salmonella sacroiliitis, adjacent subperiosteal abscess, and myositis of the left iliopsoas, gluteus medius, and obturator internus muscles. Early and accurate recognition of this syndrome and other infectious musculoskeletal syndromes can prove difficult for the emergency physician, as these disease processes require special attention to pain of proportion to physical findings and a high index of suspicion.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.1112250122051keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/44. enalapril-induced cough in the emergency department.A case of enalapril-induced cough is reported. In the Emergency Department, the patient initially was misdiagnosed with bronchial asthma and, later, with early congestive heart failure, despite normal physical examination and investigations. The cough subsided within 5 days of cessation of enalapril. It is important to recognize this side effect in patients taking enalapril.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical examination, physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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