Emergency Medicine
- What are my obligations to my incarcerated patient?
A court order authorizes a blood transfusion, but the incarcerated patient refuses the transfusion. As the caregiver, am I obligated to follow the court order against the patient’s wishes?
- Appendicitis management: Is it time for a change?
Antibiotic therapy has been a successful alternative to surgery for more than 60 years, but surgery is still the primary treatment.
- Hampton hump in acute pulmonary embolism
A 50-year-old patient presented with worsening dyspnea and cough with bilateral swelling of the lower extremities, with left-side swelling greater than right-side swelling.
- Lacrimal gland involvement in a patient with sarcoidosis
The differential diagnosis included infection, malignancy, and inflammatory disorders such as immunoglobulin G4-related disease and sarcoidosis.
- Psychogenic nonepileptic seizure: An empathetic, practical approach
Barriers to care include clinician misperceptions, lack of acceptance of the diagnosis, poor patient engagement with treatment, and lack of access to care.
- Psychogenic nonepileptic seizure: A neurologist’s perspective
Confirming the diagnosis is only the start of the journey. The greater challenge and opportunity lie in how physicians present the diagnosis to the patient and family.
- Oral hyperpigmentation with weakness and salt-craving
The patient’s primary care physician had attributed the hyperpigmentation on the lower lip and inner cheek to pen ink.
- The devil is in the details: Approach to refractory hypokalemia
The authors illustrate a stepwise approach to the evaluation of acid-base disturbances.
- Glycemic targets in the ICU: A look back, and ahead
Much work is still needed to understand the nuances of glycemic targets in critically ill patients, and to learn how to take advantage of evolving technology to improve glycemic control.
- Glycemic control in the critically ill: Less is more
The authors discuss findings from key trials, metrics of glycemic control, and recommendations of professional societies for target blood glucose ranges in critically ill patients.