Posts in Orthopedics
A Flare in the ED: Using Ultrasound to Diagnose Gout

A 53-year-old male with hypertension presents to the emergency room with painful swelling of the right first toe at the MTP joint. The patient was in good health until a few days ago, where he was attending a college reunion. The swelling and pain increased overnight. The patient is having difficulty walking this morning due to the pain. He tried taking two Advil for the pain, which helped bring the pain from an 8/10 to a 6/10…

Read More
Under Pressure: An Uncommon Location for Compartment Syndrome

A 35-year-old-patient presents following motor vehicle collision as a restrained passenger. The vehicle's dashboard was displaced into the cabin, causing prolonged entrapment of the patient’s lower extremities. The patient’s left thigh was noted by EMS to have an obvious deformity with bleeding from an anterior wound. A tourniquet was placed to the proximal left thigh. A deformity was also noted to the right thigh without obvious external hemorrhage…

Read More
Age Matters: Managing Femur Fractures in Kids

“In one overnight shift on the orthopedics service, our team evaluated three different pediatric patients with the same underlying injury: a femoral fracture. But, the management of all three children was different and the underlying reason for the different management: age….”

Read More
Utilization of Ultrasound for Diagnosis of Patellar Tendon Rupture in the Emergency Department

…complained of significant superior lateral knee pain and swelling, as well as difficulty moving his leg due to pain. On exam, he had notable swelling and tenderness of the left knee, particularly along the superior aspect of the patella. After controlling his pain with intravenous medications, he was able to flex at the hip but was unable to extend his lower leg at the knee or to perform a straight leg raise….

Read More