Emergency Medicine Commons^™

When Are Inpatient And Emergency Dermatology Consultations Appropriate?, Hershel Dobkin, Timothy Blackwell, Robin Ashinoff

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Hospitalists and emergency physicians continue to struggle with the assessment of dermatologic conditions, often consulting dermatology whenever a patient has a “rash” or skin concern. Dermatology is still not emphasized in medical education and often is taught to most medical students in an abbreviated fashion, which results in physicians feeling ill-equipped to deal with any dermatologic condition—either mundane or potentially life-threatening.

Better guidelines are needed for physicians in the ED and on inpatient units to guide them on appropriate use of dermatologic consultation outside the ambulatory office and the clinic. We constructed a consultation flowchart to help guide the triage …

An Interesting Case Of Factitious Disorder Superimposed On Self: Factitious Disorder Vs Somatic Symptom Disorder, Michaela Margolis, Logan Noone, Jessica Baaklini

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Factitious disorder superimposed on self (FDIS) was first described in 1951by Richard Asher, who associated the disorder with Baron Munchhausen, who narrated unrealistic and exaggerated stories about his life.

Suspicion for FDIS should be raised when patients with atypical presentations of medical disorders seek excessive use of healthcare services despite ongoing lack of clinical evidence. Patients with FDIS often demand hospitalization for their symptoms, leading to unnecessary tests and treatments. These patients show signs of pathological lying, deceitfulness, are obstinate with medical staff, and display erratic behavior. When medical investigation does not support their symptoms, patients often develop new “symptoms” …

A Rare Case Of Acute Appendicitis In A 21-Year-Old Male With Midsternal Chest Pain, Muhammad Noman, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna, Andrew Caravello

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Acute appendicitis is inflammation of the vestigial vermiform appendix. It is one of the leading causes of emergency department visits due to abdominal pain. The vermiform appendix is located at the base of cecum. The attachment does not change; however the tip may migrate to the retrocecal, subcecal, preileal, postileal and pelvic positions. Considering these normal anatomical positions, the pain presentation may vary in patients.

Even though this patient presented with midsternal chest pain, which was suspicious for GERD, it was crucial to perform a thorough head-to-toe exam to discover incidental findings that the patient did not report. In this …

Diaphragmatic Adjacencies: Pulmonary Embolism Presenting As Abdominal Pain, Joseph Piraneo, Christopher Schwartz, Russell Mordecai

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Pulmonary embolism is a common yet potentially life-threatening diagnosis that should not be missed in the Emergency Department. Common presenting symptoms include dyspnea, pleuritic chest pain, cough, hemoptysis, syncope or pre-syncope. Less often, however, presenting symptoms can include abdominal pain. A clinician should recognize that pain adjacent to the diaphragm (including the lower chest and upper abdomen), can be secondary to underlying pathology either above or below the diaphragm. Here we describe an unusual case of pleuritic, post-prandial, right upper quadrant abdominal pain that was a result of pulmonary embolism.

Case Report: Segmental Testicular Infarction, Nicholas Coan, Ronald Clearie, Amanda Maciag, Joseph Pagano, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna, Neelesh Parikh

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

We report a case of a 45-year-old male who presented to the Emergency Department with acute onset left testicular pain and was diagnosed with left sided segmental testicular infarction. The differential diagnosis of acute onset testicular/scrotal pain can include critical urological diagnoses such as testicular torsion and testicular tumors. In the absence of global flow disruption on ultrasound Doppler, emergent surgical intervention is not needed. While ultrasound aids in the Emergency Department’s management of acute testicular pain, it does not rule out the need for an additional outpatient work-up or imaging. Conservative management with pain control, outpatient scrotal MRI, and …

Case Report: Epigastric Abdominal Pain From Beverage Ingestion Of Freshly Squeezed Juice Of The Hardy Orange Flying Dragon Plant (Poncirus Trifoliata), James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna, David Ho

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

We report the case of a 25 year old male who presented to the ED with epigastric abdominal pain after ingesting a freshly squeezed beverage form of Flying Dragon Hardy Orange plant (Poncirus trifoliata). Poison control was contacted and recommended symptomatic treatment only. The patient’s pain resolved while in the emergency department. Seed and rind preparations have been used as an herbal remedy in East Asia. Freshly squeezed Poncirus trifoliata can cause significant abdominal pain.

Complications Of Fitz-Hugh-Curtis Syndrome In A Teenage Female: A Case Presentation, Marina Cugliari, Trupti Pandit

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Fitz-Hugh-Curtis Syndrome is a manifestation of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) associated with Chlamydia trachomatis infections and less frequently with Neisseria gonorrhea.

PID affects sexually active women (15-30 years old) and accounts for 750,000 cases each year.

The case presented illustrates a female who presented with a small bowel obstruction and appendicitis, who was incidentally found to have Fitz-Hugh-Curtis Syndrome on laparoscopic exam.

Case Report: Thyrotoxic Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis, Kelly Schuitema, Wayne Tamaska, Robin Lahr

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Thyrotoxic crisis, or thyroid storm, is an acute, life threatening event caused by hyperthyroidism with mortality up to 8-25% that can present with multi-system organ involvement. It is a rare, but well studied complication in the emergency department but can lead to further, less common complications. In this study we will discuss a case of thyrotoxic hypokalemic periodic paralysis. Thyrotoxic hypokalemic periodic paralysis (TPP) most commonly affects Asian men. The key features of the syndrome include acute onset of hypokalemia and paralysis. The hypokalemic aspect of the disorder is secondary to the shift intracellularly by thyroid hormones’ sensitization of Na+/K+-ATPase …

Case Report: Unintentional Edible Thc Ingestion (Gummi Worms) In A Child, James Espinosa, Kelly Hamilton, Alan Lucerna, David Ho, Henry Schuitema

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

We report the case of a 4 year male who presented to the ED with what his mother described as unusual fatigue and sleepiness. The mother related that family and friends had some to her house for a holiday gathering and that one of the guests had an accessible and open handbag that contained gummi worm THC. The guest observed the child eating the gummi worms and immediately notified the patient’s mother. Poison control was contacted. The child was observed for 6 hours and left the ED in good condition without any specific treatment needed. Awareness of the potential of …

Case Report: The Heart Breaking Tale Of Takotsubo In The Ed, Richard Baluyot, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna, Sergey Medlenov, Joseph Pagano, Bhumi Shah

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Chest pain is one of the most common chief complaints that emergency room physicians deal with on a daily basis. Here we present a rare cause of chest pain on a patient diagnosed with takotsubo cardiomyopathy. This is a condition that has been on the rise since its initial discovery and therefore clinicians should consider this on their differential when assessing patients with chest pain, especially postmenopausal women.

Syncope Masquerading As Pulmonary Embolism, Melissa Itidiare Locke, Andrew Caravello, Melanie Angelo, Andrew Vasta

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Syncope is a clinical syndrome that occurs due to a period of inadequate cerebral blood flow that cause a transient loss of consciousness that usually resolves within 8-10 seconds) [1] Our case demonstrates a 56-year-old female who experienced syncope for the first time. The patient had an unwitnessed fall and subsequently had imaging studies performed. A discovery of a Sub-Massive Pulmonary embolism was revealed.

Celiac Artery Aneurysm: A Rare Cause Of Abdominal Pain, Duwayne Campbell, Wayne Tamaska, Kevin Dwyer

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Celiac artery aneurysm is a very rare vascular lesion accounting for only 5.1% of all splanchnic artery aneurysms. Etiology for celiac artery aneurysm includes, but not limited to, infectious diseases, atherosclerosis, trauma, congenital conditions such as median arcuate ligament syndrome and iatrogenic causes.

Etiology for abdominal pain is extensive. Patients should be evaluated for both intra-abdominal and extra-abdominal causes for pain, as presentations of a different pathophysiology vary widely. CT scan has become a mainstay part of the work for abdominal pain in the Emergency department, and often elicit pathologies that would otherwise be missed on blood work and other …

Literature Review: Palliative Care In The Emergency Department, Alice Chang, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna, Neelesh Parikh

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

With current medical advances, our patient population continues to age. This poses new challenges for healthcare practitioners to provide for elderly patients with complex and multifactorial medical needs. Particularly, this is a growing challenge in the emergency department (ED), where patients often present towards the last months of their lives. A study conducted by UCSF indicates 75% of patients in their last 6 month of life visited the ED. 56% to 99% of older adults do not have advance directives available at ED presentation. Therefore, ED visits towards the end of life is an opportune teaching moment for physicians to …

Management Of Late-Stage Ewingoid Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma Of The Spermatic Cord With Emergent Complications: A Case Report, Raeann Dalton, Abdullah Junayed, Brian Thomas, Young Son, Megan Donlick, Kathryn Goettle, Lance Earnshaw, Thomas Mueller

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Liposarcoma (LS), a malignant tumor of adipose origin, is the most common soft tissue sarcoma (STS), and can develop within any soft tissue. It rarely occurs in the paratesticular region, and accounts for 3-7% of spermatic cord tumors. Dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLS) and well-differentiated liposarcoma (WDLS) account for two of the five subtypes of LS, with dedifferentiation occurring in 20% of cases. There have been 66 cases of DDLS of the spermatic cord reported to date, but none present with a 22/22q trisomy without the fusion or rearrangement that commonly produces these aggressive tumors.

Accurate diagnosis of LS of the spermatic …

Lung Hernia: An Uncommon Cause Of Pleuritic Chest Pain, Brittany Fera

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Lung hernia is a rare but important consideration in the differential diagnosis of chest pain in patients with recent thoracic trauma or a history of thoracic surgery. Patients who undergo an anterior approach to thoracotomy, as was the case with our patient, are at a higher risk for developing lung herniation as a result of inherent anatomical weakness and wider intercostal spaces anteriorly and inferiorly.

The Impact Of Medical Scribes On Emergency Physician Diagnostic Testing And Diagnosis Charting, Lucas Nelson, Brett R. Todd

Posters

INTRODUCTION
Since the widespread adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs), medical scribes have been increasingly utilized in emergency department (ED) settings to offload the documentation burden of emergency physicians (EPs). Scribes have been shown to increase EP productivity and satisfaction; however, little is known about their effects on the EP’s diagnostic process. We aimed to assess what effect, if any, scribes have on EP diagnostic test ordering and their documentation of differential diagnoses.

Acute Large-Vessel Occlusion Masquerading As Traumatic Injury, Daniel Boron-Brenner, Ryan Overberger

Einstein Health Papers

A patient presented to an urban level 1 trauma center/accredited thrombectomy-capable stroke center for evaluation of suspected traumatic injury and was quickly determined to have symptoms suspicious for acute stroke that included dense hemiparesis with preserved mental status. He received a thrombectomy with an eventual return to neurologic baseline and discharge to acute inpatient rehabilitation 14 days after presentation.

Differences Within A Health System: Imaging Use For Suspected Pediatric Appendicitis, Nafisa Bhuiyan, Ryan Nierstedt, Michelle Jankowski, Shanna Jones, Aveh Bastani

Posters

INTRODUCTION
Ultrasound (US) is the first line imaging used for suspected pediatric appendicitis. However, following equivocal US findings and its lower negative predictive value for ruling out appendicitis, Computed Tomography (CT) imaging is often performed in children. This study investigates the differences in imaging utilization between a community hospital (Beaumont Troy) and a children’s ED hospital (Beaumont Royal Oak), making it the first study to evaluate suspected pediatric appendicitis in Beaumont Health System. It also aims to further characterize differences in patient outcomes such as surgery, length of hospital stay, complications of appendicitis, and highlight the need to reduce unnecessary …

Differences In Small Bowel Obstruction Outcomes In An Academic Vs Community Hospital., Kelly Fahey, Aveh Bastani, Shanna Jones, Philip Kilanowski-Doroh

Posters

Small bowel obstruction: blockage in small intestine. Adhesions are the most common cause. Accounts for 300,000 hospitalizations in the US annually, and 20% of emergency surgical procedures in patients with abdominal pain. High morbidity and mortality. Average hospital stay of 8 days. 30-day readmission rate of 16%. In-hospital mortality rate of 3%. Costly diagnosis: more than $2 billion spent on admissions for adhesion-related disease in the United States. Clinical presentation: variable, includes abdominal pain, vomiting, constipation, nausea, and abdominal distention. Management. Operative: important if signs of ischemia, peritonitis, or strangulation. Conservative: includes bowel rest, nasogastric decompression, serial examinations, and a …

Cardiac Arrest Patient Length Of Stay And Survival In Michigan Hospitals, Jaemin Song, David A. Berger, James H. Paxton, Joseph B. Miller, Joshua Reynolds, Nai-Wei Chen, Robert Swor

Posters

INTRODUCTION
Current guidelines recommend deferring prognostic decisions for at least 72 hours following admission after Out of Hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Most non-survivors experience withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy (WLST), and early WLST may adversely impact survival. We sought to characterize the hospital length of stay (LOS) and timing of Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders (as surrogates for WLST) to assess their relationship to survival following cardiac arrest.

A Multimodal Approach To Reducing Opioid Administration In The Emergency Department, Eddie Ford, Vito Rocco, Shanna Jones, Patrick Karabon

Posters

INTRODUCTION
The United States is battling a deadly epidemic against opioid abuse and misuse, which began as a result of pharmaceutical companies purposely downplaying the addictive potential of their opioid medications. In 2016, a Colorado health care system developed a groundbreaking alternative to opioids (ALTO) protocol for acute pain relief in the Emergency Department (ED). This protocol was adapted and implemented in the Beaumont Troy ED and is the focus of this current study. The primary goal of this study is to characterize the impact of the ALTO protocol on the rate of opioid and non-opioid administration in the ED …

Outcomes For Patients With Congestive Heart Failure And Chronic Kidney Disease Receiving Fluid Resuscitation For Severe Sepsis Or Septic Shock, Melany Wiczorek, Ronny Otero, Steven Knight, Kaitlin Ziadeh, James Blumline, Zachary Rollins

Posters

INTRODUCTION
Sepsis core measures are an integral part of sepsis treatment. Current fluid administration guidelines consist of administering at least 30cc/kg of intravenous fluids (IVF) per ideal body weight (IBW) within the first three hours of sepsis diagnosis regardless of pre-existing comorbidities at risk for fluid overload. This study aims to evaluate the outcomes of patients with a history of congestive heart failure (CHF) and/or chronic kidney disease (CKD) who receive fluid resuscitation for the management of severe sepsis or septic shock.

The Current State Of Diagnostic Error Education In U.S. Medical Schools, Dakota Hall, Sandra Lablance, Brett Todd

Posters

Diagnostic error has been identified by the Institute of Medicine as a major cause of patient harm. Despite recent focus on the importance of diagnostic error, little is known about how medical schools are educating future physicians, specifically, the extent to which it is taught. We aimed to investigate the current state of diagnostic error education in U.S. medical schools.

Journal Club In The Pre-Clinical Years During Medical School, Kristin Cuadra, Steven Joseph

Posters

INTRODUCTION
Traditionally, journal clubs have been conducted within graduate medical programs to help integrate evidence-based learning. This study will be focused on beginning to integrate journal club into the pre-clinical years while implementing successful techniques used in past journal clubs. Our hypothesis is that, with a structured review instrument in place to help students analyze clinical articles, students will be able to benefit from monthly journal clubs and fully grasp concepts taught in these pre-clinical years. Overall, the results will contribute significantly in determining the efficacy of journal club and whether or not it can be a valuable tool in …

A Review Of The Clinical And Cost Effectiveness Of Intravenous And Intramuscular Pharmacological Treatment On Acute Agitation In Patients Admitted To The Emergency Department, Ryan Ferris, Carol Keller

Providence Pharmacy PGY1 Program at Providence Milwaukie and Providence Newberg Medical Centers 2022

No abstract provided.

An Exploration Of Covid-19 Impact On Healthcare Workers’ Mental Health In China, Jenny Yang

Nursing | Senior Theses

Background

In December 2019, the first confirmed human case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or COVID-19 occurred in Wuhan, China. By March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) had classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic due to the rapid spread of the virus to other countries. Many people have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in various aspects, especially front-line healthcare workers. Hospital working conditions are constantly changing to cope with the problems that arise from the pandemic. These problems can result in an unsafe patient-to-nurse ratio, understaffed healthcare workers in hospitals, equipment shortage, and increased …

Decreasing Time To Antibiotic Administration In Febrile Neutropenic Adult Oncology Patients In The Emergency Department: An Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Project, Kristin Murray

DNP Projects

Introduction—Significance and Background: Febrile Neutropenia (FN) is the most common and serious complication of hematopoietic cancers and in patients receiving chemotherapy. Patients in this immunocompromised state have weakened immunity to fight off infection and a mortality rate of almost 10%. Thus, Infectious Diseases Society of America has identified the single most important determining factor of outcomes is the timing of antibiotic (TTA) administration and has identified the gold standard to be 60 minutes. Current practice does not follow guidelines and the current policy does not address the urgency of antibiotic administration.

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to improve …

The Current State Of Diagnostic Error Education In Us Medical Schools, Dakota Hall, Brett R. Todd, Sandra Lablance

Conference Presentation Abstracts

Background: Diagnostic error has been identified by the Institute of Medicine as a major cause of patient harm. Despite this recent focus on the importance of diagnostic error, little is known about how medical schools are educating future physicians on diagnostic error, specifically if diagnostic error is taught, when in the curriculum it is taught, and the format for teaching. We aimed to investigate the current state of education on diagnostic error in US medical schools. Methods: We conducted an anonymous survey of deans of medical education at US MD and DO medical schools utilizing Qualtrics. The study was distributed …

Enhancing Depression Screening For The Adolescent Population In The Pediatric Emergency Department By Utilizing The Patient Health Questionnaire: A Quality Improvement Project, Chelsea Alvarez

DNP Projects

Background:

Mental health disparities make up 16% of the global burden of disease and injury in people ages 10-19. Many cases of mental health are unidentified and left untreated. Failure to address mental health disorders in children can lead to poor outcomes of health and well-being. Evidence-based practice supports the utilization of screening tools such as the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depression screening in adolescents ages 12-18 years.

Objectives:

By implementing the PHQ-9 in the pediatric emergency department, the goals for this quality improvement project were to increase staff knowledge on the PHQ-9, improve staff screening compliance, and to …

Analyzing The Effect Of Interview Time And Day On Emergency Medicine Residency Interview Scores, Alanna O'Connell, Sean Greco, Tingting Zhan, Tracy Brader, Megan Crossman, Robin Naples, Anthony Sielicki, Megan Stobart Gallagher, Peter Tomaselli, Dimitrios Papanagnou

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Background: When it comes to scheduling interviews, medical students may wonder if they need a strategy to increase their likelihood of matching. Previous studies examined the temporal effects of the residency interview on overall match rate; however, there are additional factors that affect the match process, including board examination scores and letters of recommendation. Only few studies have examined the effect interview time of day has on match success. The current study examines the impact date and time of interview during the interview season have on candidates' respective interview scores.

Methods: Interview data over a three-year period (i.e., three interview …