Acute Medicine最新文献

Purpose: Assessment of ultrasound use for peripheral intravenous cannulation among acute care nurses and physicians.

Methods: Over a population of 17,437, the calculated sample size of respondents required was 376.

Results: A total of 388 health professionals; 249 (64.2%) physicians and 139 (35.8%) nurses completed the entire questionnaire. 166 (45.2%) used ultrasound for intravenous cannulation. A statistically significant difference favored physicians' ultrasound use (p<0.001). Respondents with less than 10 years of clinical practice used ultrasound significantly more (p<0.001). The main reported obstacle among users was the lack of time.

Conclusion: This survey revealed the gap between the current recommendations for ultrasound use for peripheral intravenous cannulation and the actual practices. Efforts should be made to develop specific training using ultrasound.

Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) represents an exciting tool for current and future acute care practitioners. POCUS has come a long way in a short space of time and its widespread implementation may well be one of the biggest changes seen in acute medicine across the next decade. This narrative review explores the increasing evidence base for the accuracy of POCUS use in various acute scenarios, whilst also addressing current gaps in the evidence and areas for potential future POCUS development.

Orbital myositis is a rare inflammatory condition affecting the extraocular muscles of the eyes. It has also been linked to systemic autoimmune diseases. We present a case of orbital myositis in a 57-year-old male undergoing treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with tofacitinib, a Janus kinase inhibitor (JAK). Prompt administration of intravenous steroids led to rapid symptom improvement. To date, only six published cases have documented the association between RA and orbital myositis. This is the first description of orbital myositis occurring during treatment with the anti-inflammatory drug tofacitinib, an increasingly used disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD). We review the literature and emphasize the importance of ongoing vigilance regarding adverse events linked to tofacitinib.

We read with great interest the article "Artificial Intelligence: its Future and Impact on Acute Medicine". Regarding the historical perspective on artificial intelligence (AI) origins, we believe the role of John von Neumann (1903-1957) also deserves emphasis.

We report the case of a 54 year old man referred to the Emergency Department for rapid onset of an itchy rash and oppressive epigastric pain after assumption of amoxicillin/clavulanate. Electrocardiogram aand laboratory findings were consistent with acute coronaty syndrome. After coronary angiography, diagnosis of type II Kounis syndrome was made.

A 32-year-old lady with a history of bulimia nervosa was noted to have a raised adjusted calcium of 2.94mmol/L associated with high parathyroid hormone (PTH) 17.2pmol/L. On review, she had an apparent hypercalcaemia for at least three years, and also had a chronic, severe alkalosis with a bicarbonate up to 81.9mEQ/L. Ionised calcium during that time had actually been low, down to 1.03mmol/L. This case highlights the effects of alkalosis on calcium, as more albumin is available for binding to ionised calcium. This results in a low ionised calcium, which triggers PTH release and overall leads to raised adjusted calcium levels. Clinicians may misdiagnose a similar patient with primary hyperparathyroidism and treatment would cause worsening of true hypocalcaemia.

During the current SARS-CoV2 pandemic, fear of nosocomial infection could keep neutropenic patients from contacting the healthcare system with infection. We analyzed nationwide hospital contacts for neutropenic fever during the first seven weeks of the Danish shelter at home order. Using national registers, we extracted data on all unplanned hospital contacts due to neutropenic fever. We included 311 admissions, 13-30 per week, and found no difference between 2017-2019 and 2020. The incidence rate ratio varied between 0.68 and 1.11 with no effect on mortality. Thus, our data indicate that Danish neutropenic patients are admitted with fever, even during a pandemic.

In the context of a significant increase in obesity rates, quantifying the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and risk of pulmonary embolism (PE) is an essential component of accurate clinical risk assessment. This observational study is the first to explore this association by clinician-defined cause of the PE. We demonstrate that the association between BMI and PE is driven by patients with otherwise 'unprovoked' PE where there is a strong positive correlation with odds ratios equivalent to well-recognised major risk factors such as cancer, pregnancy and surgery. We make a case for the inclusion of BMI in risk-prediction tools.

Background: The relationship between diagnosis, illness severity, and mortality risk for unselected emergency admissions is poorly defined.

Aim: To define primary ICD-10 diagnostic chapters at discharge, admission illness severity by the National Early Warning Score, and in-hospital mortality for all unselected emergency admissions.

Method: Retrospective, observational, cohort study of 122,259 unselected, adult emergency admissions to Salford Royal Hospital between 2014 and 2022.

Results: In-hospital mortality was 4.3% but most patients had an ICD-10 chapter associated with a lower risk of death. 60% of in-hospital deaths were in four chapters, infections, circulatory and respiratory diseases, or neoplasms. An admission NEWS ≥3 was associated with earlier mortality and an eight-fold increased risk of in-hospital mortality. 45% of all in-hospital deaths occurred in patients with an admission NEWS <3.

Conclusion: Mortality in emergency hospital admissions is associated with illness severity and four diagnostic chapters. NEWS should not be the only arbiter of hospital admission, as for certain diagnostic chapters the risk of death is high even if vital signs on presentation are normal.

Background: The medical registrar is a daunting role to take on for the first time. While studies have explored how preparedness can be improved through simulation, less has been written about how doctors learn to be registrars through clinical practice.

Method: Doctors working as medical registrars were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data collected underwent thematic analysis.

Results: The clinical environment was considered fertile ground for transformative experiential learning, but opportunities for debriefing and guided reflection were rare. Participants felt they needed additional support from supervisors after difficult experiences and mistakes, but this support was not always forthcoming.

Conclusion: Acute physicians involved in supervising new medical registrars must facilitate meaningful independent practice to encourage the next generation of medical generalists.