Advanced Journal of Emergency medicine
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Operational Strategies for Establishing Disaster-Resilient Schools: A Qualitative Study
Get PDFIntroduction: Resilient schools can warranty students’ health and survival at disasters. It is obligatory that schools be prepared for natural challenges through local programs. Considering the great population of students, disaster-resilient schools can be a safe and suitable environment for students at the time of disaster. Objective: This study aims to identify certain operational strategies for establishing schools resilient to natural disasters. Method: This qualitative study was based on conventional content analysis. Using purposive sampling method, 24 experts in the fields of health in disasters, construction engineering, psychology, teaching, and administrative management participated in the study. Maximum variation sampling continued until data saturation was achieved. The data collected via unstructured interviews were analyzed with Graneheim and Lundmen’s conventional content analysis. Results: Content analysis resulted in four main categories as operational strategies for establishing disaster-resilient schools including: 1) “construction and non-construction optimization”, with four subcategories of construct risk management, optimization of construct architecture and physical structure, correct construct localization, and promotion of non-construct safety, 2) “promotion of organizational coordination and interactions” with two subcategories, namely improvement in intra-organizational communication and improvement in extra-organizational communication, 3) “improvement in education” with three subcategories of holding educational courses for families and students, holding educational courses for managers and personnel, and holding simulated exercises, and 4) “process promotion” with four subcategories of increased preparedness, correct planning, creation of organizational structure, and rehabilitation facilitation. Conclusion: Various factors affecting schools’ response to disasters form operational strategies to establish disaster-resilient schools. These strategies influence pre- and post-disaster preparedness. Awareness of these components followed by preparedness prior to disasters can save students’ lives, improve school performance after disasters, and aid in establishing disaster-resilient schools as safe lodgings
An Unusual Case of Accidental Ingestion of a Toothbrush
Get PDFIntroduction: Foreign body ingestion is a common presenting complaint in the emergency department. While ingestion of small foreign bodies like coins and button batteries is not uncommon, ingestion of long and rigid foreign bodies like toothbrush is very rare. Case presentation: We describe a 36-year-old man who presented to us after accidental ingestion of a toothbrush. The patient underwent urgent endoscopic removal; Psychiatric evaluation revealed an acute and transient psychotic disorder in him. Conclusion: Ingestion of long and rigid foreign bodies like a toothbrush is an uncommon entity. Such foreign bodies when ingested find it difficult to maneuver through the GI tract, which makes their spontaneous passage almost impossible. Their ingestion is associated with increased risk of impaction, perforation and, bleeding. Therefore, early removal of the ingested toothbrush is recommended before complications develop
The Effect of Language Barrier and Non-professional Interpreters on the Accuracy of Patient-physician Communication in Emergency department
Get PDFIntroduction: Patients’ relatives commonly play the role of interpreters in medical interviews. These non-professional interpreters are prone to potentially-dangerous translation errors. Objective: The present study was conducted to evaluate these errors in the emergency department (ED). Method: Twenty interviews with Azeri patients were recorded. They were unable of speaking Persian and therefore accompanied by a relative as a Persian interpreter. These records were presented to two physicians as native Azeri speakers to determine the clinical importance of the interpreters' errors according to their medical expertise. Results: The total omission and addition errors observed in Azeri to Persian translation were significantly more than in Persian to Azeri translation, while mistranslation errors were almost the same. The relatives with higher levels of education made fewer errors, and those living with the patients made significantly more addition errors. Conclusion: Non-professional interpreters cannot effectively facilitate patient-physician communication, as their translation is error-prone, especially in terms of translating their native language into official languages. These errors can have important clinical ramifications
A 62-year-old Man with Acute Dizziness, Nausea and Vomiting
Get PDFThe patient was a 62-year-old man presenting to the emergency department 6 hours after the onset of dizziness, nausea and vomiting. The patient complained of numbness of the right side of her body and reported swallowing problems. The initial examination showed the patient was alert and stable. The left side of her face was sweating while the right side was completely dry. The neurological examination revealed the patient was alert, and the right pupil was about 2 mm smaller than the left eye pupil, and both pupils responded to light. A paresis was observed in the right side of the face, tongue and uvula. Uvula was slightly deviated to the right. Other signs included hoarseness and swallowing impairment. The muscle strength of all four limbs was 5/5. Babinski reflex was downward on both sides. The patient could not sit by herself, and leaned to the right. The patient had a history of primary coronary intervention (PCI) and stent placement four years ago. She had smoked a pack of cigarettes for 40 years. She used nitrocontin, pearl, lisinopril, carvedilol and furosemide. Laboratory tests were normal. The first CT scan in the emergency department was normal. As a brain stem infarction was suspected, MRI was performed and revealed an infarct (Figure 1). The patient received neurology consultation and was discharged with stable vital signs and the daily order of aspirin and atorvastatin after five days. The patient was asked to have weekly follow-up visits
Extending Survival in a Patient with Extensive Stage of Small Cell Lung Cancer Presenting with Superior Vena Cava Syndrome as an Initial Symptom: A Case Study
Get PDFIntroduction: Superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome which is defined as the obstruction of blood flow through the SVC vein, often affecting patients with malignancy especially small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and is potentially an emergent condition needing prompt management. It is an ominous sign with poor prognosis and a mean of 8-10 months survival rate. Case presentation: Here we present a middle-aged man who presented with fascial swelling and dyspnea with final diagnosis of advanced SCLC. Combination of multiple chemotherapy regimen, prophylactic brain radiation with administration of anticoagulant drugs were performed for him leading toward extension of his survival to 28 months. Conclusion: These therapeutic approaches may lead to extending the survival in patients with SVC syndrome and SCLC
Accuracy of Ultrasonography in Diagnosis of Shoulder Dislocation: A Systematic Review
Get PDFContext: This meta-analysis of clinical trials was conducted to compare the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in comparison to plain radiography in shoulder dislocation. Evidence acquisition: MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, clinicaltrials.gov, Google scholar, and Scopus were searched for clinical trials. Diagnosis of shoulder dislocation and confirmation of shoulder reduction were the outcomes of interest. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of included clinical trials were calculated. Results: Seven studies met our inclusion criteria and were analyzed. All included studies except two had a sensitivity and specificity of 100% for ultrasound (one with a sensitivity of 54% and one with a specificity of 60%). Conclusion: It can be suggested that ultrasound can be used as a reliable alternative diagnostic method for detection of both dislocation and reduction in shoulder joint. This may decrease the delay in treatment, cost, radiation exposure, and need for repeated sedation
Acute Kidney Injury in Severe Trauma Patients; a Record-Based Retrospective Study
Get PDFIntroduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and devastating clinical issue in the community associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Objective: We aimed at estimating the frequency and levels of severity of AKI in trauma patients requiring hospital admission using the RIFLE criteria and assess their outcome. Method: Our retrospective record based study enrolled data of 80 participants aged 18-59 years who presented to the emergency department of KIMS hospital following an acute traumatic event. Participants with pre-existing renal dysfunction, chronic heart failure and chronic liver disease were excluded. Tests of significance were Chi square and independent sample t test, a p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Participants with AKI had significantly lower age (p=0.02) and lower revised trauma score (RTS) (p=0.01). Significant association of AKI with hypotension (p=0.01) and Glasgow coma scale (GCS) (p=0.008) was observed. No association of AKI with gender was observed (p=0.6). None of the AKI patients required renal replacement therapy and all participants attained normal renal function at discharge. Significantly longer mean duration of hospital stay (14.4 days) was observed among AKI patients (p=0.02). Totally, 6.3 % mortality was observed among both participants with and without AKI. Conclusion: Forty percent of acute trauma patients had AKI (in risk and injury category); but none were in failure, loss or end stage renal disease. No association of AKI and mortality was observed. AKI was associated with age, RTS, hypotension and GCS
Food-borne Botulism Caused by Clay Cheese: A Case Report
Get PDFIntroduction: Recently, the use of metal and plastic containers instead of clay containers in producing this type of cheese has provided the anaerobic condition for growing the bacterium and producing the botulinum toxin. In this case report was to introduce "clay cheese dug in the ground" as a source of botulinum toxin for the first time. Case Report: A 34-year-old man with dizziness, asthma, and inability to swallow for four days referred to the hospital emergency department. He had diplopia and ptosis for two days. During admission to the emergency, the patient was conscious without fever, but with dysarthria and bilateral ptosis, an impaired gag reflex, slow right papillary reaction to light, a decreased eye movement, and a decreased power of facial muscles and limbs. The patient reported the use of clay cheese in a week before referring to the emergency. Hematological, biochemical, electrocardiogram, magnetic resonance imaging, and chest X-ray assays were normal. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classification, these symptoms were related to botulism. The evaluation of serum samples, emission, and gastric juice confirmed botulism by type A toxin. Conclusion: Considering the clinical results of this case study, clay cheese, which is produced in the west of Iran, can be introduced as a new source of the botulinum toxin
The Diagnosis and Management of Toxic Alcohol Poisoning in the Emergency Department: A Review Article
Get PDFContext: This review discusses the range of clinical presentations seen with poisonings by the major toxic alcohols--methanol, ethylene glycol, and isopropyl alcohol. It outlines a straightforward diagnostic strategy and discusses in detail the current treatment recommendations. Evidence acquisition: The authors conducted a literature search of primary and secondary sources related to the topic. For treatment recommendations, search restrictions included articles published between 2008 and 2019. For background information, search restrictions included articles written from 1990 – present. Results: This review discusses in detail how the diagnosis can be made via clinical signs, symptoms, and laboratory values as well as the most recent treatment recommendations. This paper will also discuss the limitations of the emergency department workup and how the absence of particular laboratory findings does not necessarily rule out the diagnosis. Conclusion: Poisoning with methanol, ethylene glycol, and isopropanol present diagnostic and therapeutic challenges to emergency physicians. Toxic alcohol poisonings lead to an elevated osmolar gap and, with the exception of Isopropanol, a metabolic acidosis. In order for the timely initiation of life-saving treatment, emergency physicians need a solid understanding of the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, laboratory workup, and treatment. Laboratory assays for these compounds are send-out tests in most hospitals and are therefore of no value in the acute clinical setting
The Role of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 and Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A in Diagnosis of Acute Coronary Syndrome and Its Related Morbidities
Get PDFIntroduction: Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) is a metalloproteinase that plays a role in atherosclerotic plaque destabilization. In recent studies, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) has been introduced as a mediator of atherosclerosis. PAPP-A and IGF-1 level may be important diagnostic indicators of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Objective: The present study tried to assess the diagnostic role of IGF-1 and PAPP-A biomarkers in ACS spectrum. Methods: The serum level of IGF-1, PAPP-A and troponin I was determined in 121 consecutive patients with ACS. Relationships were assessed by t-test, ANOVA and the non-parametric equivalent. Accuracy of biomarkers was measured by the area under the ROC curve (AUC) and optimal cut-off points to diagnose STEMI and NSTEMI using Youden index. Results: In patients with acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), all of these three biomarkers were significantly higher than those in patients with unstable angina (P= 0.028 for IGF-1, P<0.001 for PAPP-A and Troponin-I). Mean level of IGF-1 in patients with renal failure was significantly higher than that in patients without renal failure (137.9±35.1 vs 105.1±46.9, P=0.003), but PAPP-A and serum Troponin-I level had no significant difference in renal failure groups (P>0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that after Troponin-I, PAPP-A was a good discriminator between patients with STEMI and patients with unstable angina (AUC=0.79). Optimum cut-off value for PAPP-A was found to be 89.2 ng/ml, with sensitivity and specificity of 66.7% and 83.8%, respectively. Conclusion: PAPP-A can be a novel biomarker for both identification of patients with STEMI and risk stratification in patients with ACS