A 46-year-old male with no past medical history presents to the ED via ambulance after crashing his bicycle. He was traveling at 25 mph when a dog ran out in front of him, causing him to swerve and fall onto his left side. He was helmeted and did not lose consciousness…
Read MoreA 51-year-old male with no past medical history presents to the ED with wrist pain after a fall. Earlier today, he lost his balance and fell down 12 stairs, landing on his outstretched hand. He has had increasing swelling of the radial aspect of his left wrist as well as extreme pain with movement. He did not strike his head or lose consciousness, and reports no other injuries…
Read MoreA 67-year-old man presents to the emergency department after a mechanical fall from standing. During his trauma evaluation, he is found to have severe right-sided chest wall tenderness. His imaging demonstrates multiple right-sided rib fractures with an otherwise unremarkable workup. The patient is in significant discomfort and is given acetaminophen and morphine. Despite this, he remains in severe pain and has difficulty taking deep breaths. The patient is given an incentive spirometer and his maximum vital capacity is measured at 500 ml. What complications is this patient at risk of developing? What interventions can be performed in the emergency department to help manage his pain?
Read More“It would be unusual to go too many shifts as an emergency medicine provider without seeing the classic elderly female patient with hip pain after a fall. On exam, the patient would likely be uncomfortable with their hip appearing shortened and externally rotated on exam. Before you even view the X-ray, you know they likely fractured their hip. You ascertain whether it was a mechanical fall, if there were other injuries, if the injury is open or closed and if the patient is neurovascularly intact. You proceed to order your imaging and consider your plan for pain control. Sound familiar…”
Read MoreA 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…
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