Items tagged “emergency”

Right heart strain (or more precisely right ventricular strain) is a term given to denote the presence of right ventricular dysfunction usually in the absence of an underlying cardiomyopathy. It can manifest as an acute right heart syndrome. Pathology Right heart strain can often occur as a re...

This is a basic article for medical students and other non-radiologists Skull fractures usually occur following significant head injury and may herald underlying neurological pathology. Reference article This is a summary article; read more in our article on skull fractures. Summary anatomy...

One of the most important indicators of increased intracranial pressure due to mass effect is midline shift. Pathology Any intra-axial or extra-axial lesion (tumor, hemorrhage, abscess, etc.) has the potential to exert mass effect on the brain parenchyma and cause lateral shift of the midline ...

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a group of cardiac diagnoses along a spectrum of severity due to the interruption of coronary blood flow to the myocardium, which in decreasing severity are: ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) unstable an...

Pneumothorax is a serious potential consequence of blunt thoracic trauma and, if misdiagnosed, it may quickly become life-threatening. For a discussion on epidemiology, clinical presentation, pathology, and treatment and prognosis please see the main pneumothorax article.  Radiographic feature...

Congestive cardiac failure (CCF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF) or simply heart failure, refers to the clinical syndrome caused by inherited or acquired abnormalities of heart structure and function, causing a constellation of symptoms and signs that lead to decreased quality and ...

The Geneva score is a clinical decision rule used to estimate the pre-test probability of pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients in which this diagnosis was considered. The criteria were originally published by the clinical team of the Geneva University Hospital in 2001 1, and revised and simplifie...

Aortic valve regurgitation, also known as aortic valve insufficiency or aortic valve incompetence, is a valvulopathy that describes leaking of the aortic valve during diastole that causes blood to flow in the reverse direction from the aorta and into the left ventricle. Epidemiology Aortic reg...

Wellens syndrome (also referred to as LAD coronary T-wave syndrome) refers to an ECG pattern specific for critical stenosis of the proximal left anterior descending (LAD artery  +/- resultant myocardial infarction in this territory.  The anomalies described occur in patients with recent anginal...

Acetabular fractures are a type of pelvic fracture, which may also involve the ilium, ischium or pubis depending on fracture configuration. Epidemiology Acetabular fractures are uncommon. The reported incidence is approximately 3 per 100,000 per year. This study reported a 63% to 37% male to f...

Pre-eclampsia is a disorder of pregnancy involving new-onset hypertension (systolic BP ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg) and involvement of one or more other organ systems. Epidemiology Pre-eclampsia affects up to 8% of pregnancies 1. Risk factors diabetes mellitus 2 chronic hypertension ...

A massive pulmonary embolism (PE) represents the most severe manifestation of venous thromboembolic disease when classified on a continuum of hemodynamic derangement. Diagnostic criteria Massive PE is usually characterized by an acute pulmonary embolism accompanied by one or more of the follo...