The overhead announcement goes off: “Team B to the trauma room”. The report: EMS is bringing a 2-year-old female that was found unresponsive in the family swimming pool by her mother after being alerted by an older sibling. Unknown downtime. The patient is being bagged by bag-valve mask (BVM) and has slow, but palpable, femoral pulses, she is unresponsive, ETA 2 minutes…
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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…
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A 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?
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