Items tagged “emergency”
76 results found


Article
Gout
Gout is a crystal arthropathy due to deposition of monosodium urate crystals in and around the joints.
Epidemiology
Typically occurs in those above 40 years. There is a strong male predilection of 20:1, with this predilection more pronounced in younger and middle-aged adults. In the elderly, t...
Article
Lead poisoning
Lead poisoning or plumbism refers to the multi-organ toxicity exerted by exposure to lead. Manifestations differ based on a myriad of features including chronicity, exposure intensity, and age. Neurologic toxicity and hematologic toxicity are common features. Clinical manifestations vary, rangin...
Article
Pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism (PE) refers to embolic occlusion of the pulmonary arterial system. The majority of cases result from thrombotic occlusion, and therefore the condition is frequently termed pulmonary thromboembolism, which is what this article mainly covers.
Non-thrombotic pulmonary emboli sou...
Article
Scaphoid fracture
Scaphoid fractures (i.e. fractures through the scaphoid bone) are common, in some instances can be difficult to diagnose, and can result in significant functional impairment.
Epidemiology
Scaphoid fractures account for 70-80% of all carpal bone fractures 1. Although they occur essentially at a...
Article
Raccoon eyes sign (base of skull fracture)
Raccoon eyes sign (or panda eyes in the UK and Ireland) refers to periorbital ecchymosis with sparing of the tarsal plate 3 and is a physical examination finding indicative of a base of skull fracture of the anterior cranial fossa.
However it is not pathognomonic for trauma, and there are sever...
Article
Shoulder dislocation
The shoulder dislocation (more accurately termed a glenohumeral joint dislocation) involves separation of the humerus from the glenoid of the scapula at the glenohumeral joint.
This article contains a general discussion on shoulder dislocation. For specific dislocation types please refer to the...
Article
Pericarditis
Pericarditis is defined as inflammation of the pericardium. It is normally found in association with cardiac, thoracic or wider systemic pathology and it is unusual to manifest on its own.
Epidemiology
Associations
camptodactyly arthropathy coxa vara pericarditis syndrome
Diagnosis
The diag...
Article
Elbow dislocation
Elbow dislocation is the second most common large joint dislocation in adults and the most common in children.
Epidemiology
Elbow dislocations are common and account for 10-25% of all elbow injuries in the adult population 1. They are the most common dislocation in children 4.
Associations
...
Article
Pneumopericardium
Pneumopericardium represents gas (usually air) within the pericardium, thus surrounding the heart.
Pathology
Etiology
Underlying causes include:
positive pressure ventilation
thoracic surgery/pericardial fluid drainage
penetrating trauma
blunt trauma (rare)
infectious per...
Article
Cardiac tamponade
Cardiac tamponade is the result of an accumulation of fluid, pus, blood, gas, or benign or malignant neoplastic tissue within the pericardial cavity, which can occur either rapidly or gradually over time, but eventually, results in impaired cardiac output.
This is to be distinguished from a per...
Article
Pulled elbow syndrome
Pulled elbow (also known as nursemaid's elbow) is a subluxation of the radial head into the annular ligament, which usually spontaneously or easily reduces and rarely demonstrates abnormal radiographic features. If the clinical presentation is atypical, pulled elbow should be distinguished from ...
Article
Gallbladder perforation
Gallbladder perforations are a serious complication of acute cholecystitis and represent an advanced stage of the disease. They tend to occur in an elderly and/or comorbid demographic and carry higher rates of morbidity and mortality.
Clinical presentation
Symptoms and clinical signs are varia...
Article
Emergency CT head (mnemonic)
A useful mnemonic which is used to read an emergency head CT scan is:
Blood Can Be Very Bad
Mnemonic
Using a systematic approach will help to ensure that significant neuropathology will not be missed.
B: blood
look for epidural hematoma, subdural hematoma, intraparenchymal hemorrhage, ...
Case
Ruptured renal artery aneurysm managed with autotransplantation

Diagnosis certain
Published 10 Mar 2013
98% complete
CT
Article
Acute vs chronic ischemic stroke (CT)
Differentiating between acute and chronic infarction on a CT brain is an important skill for many health professionals particularly in the emergency setting:
pathology
acute: cytotoxic edema
chronic: encephalomalacia; Wallerian degeneration
hypoattenuation
acute: more dense than CSF
chroni...
Article
Elbow joint effusion
An elbow joint effusion is a key finding to recognize on an elbow radiograph and should be used as a trigger to search for a fracture.
Finding an effusion
Recognizing an elbow joint effusion on lateral radiographs is an essential radiology skill. While the fluid itself is not discretely seen...
Article
Retroperitoneal hemorrhage
Retroperitoneal hemorrhage can be a source of significant yet occult blood loss.
Terminology
Some articles conflate and/or confuse retroperitoneal hemorrhage and Wunderlich syndrome 5. However Wunderlich syndrome refers primarily to bleeding around the kidney, not the retroperitoneum in genera...
Article
Abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rupture is a feared complication of abdominal aortic aneurysm and is a surgical emergency. It is part of the acute aortic syndrome spectrum.
Epidemiology
Abdominal aortic aneurysms are common and affect ~7.5% of patients aged over 65 years 6.
The risk of ruptur...
Case
Traumatic small bowel injury

Diagnosis certain
Published 04 Nov 2013
83% complete
CT
Article
Hemoptysis
Hemoptysis (plural: hemoptyses) refers to coughing up of blood. Generally, it appears bright red in color as opposed to blood from the gastrointestinal tract which appears dark red. It is considered an alarming sign of a serious underlying etiology.
Terminology
A variety of clinical classifica...