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The day after a man came to the ED at Edward Hospital in Naperville, IL, reporting low back pain and was discharged with analgesics, he received a phone call asking how he was feeling. He reported weakness and difficulty emptying his bladder.
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Over-ordering of diagnostic tests is a key focus of policymakers and insurers, but is unlikely to come up during malpractice litigation, according to health care attorneys and risk management experts interviewed by ED Legal Letter.
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When a patient arrived at an emergency department (ED) and reported chest pain, he failed to notify the emergency physician (EP) that he was addicted to opiates. The case involved a patient who suffered a cardiac event while visiting relatives.
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A 42-year-old female presented to the emergency department (ED) with a complaint of a constant headache that began the day before arrival. The patient was seven days postpartum, having undergone an epidural block and cesarean section.
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Since the introduction of the vaccine against H. influenzae, there has been a significant decrease in the number of children presenting with epiglottitis. Although there is little evidence that the disease has increased in adults, clearly the percentage of cases in adults compared to children has increased. Further, there is greater recognition of milder cases with direct visualization and imaging.
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The Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial with Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (MADIT-CRT) showed that implantation of a cardiac-resynchronization therapy with a defibrillator (CRT-D) in patients with left bundle-branch block (LBBB), Class I or II congestive heart failure (CHF), and an ejection fraction < 30% was associated with a significant reduction in heart-failure events over 2.4 years.
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Most current guidelines recommend exercise electrocardiographic (ECG) testing for suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients who can exercise and have a normal resting ECG.
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In patients with stable coronary artery disease and atrial fibrillation (AF) on oral anticoagulants, adding antiplatelet agents is common and recommended in guidelines, especially during the first year after an acute coronary event or revascularization.
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The mortality benefit to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is unquestioned when it comes to ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).
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In patients with severe degenerative mitral regurgitation (MR), surgery is clearly recommended in the presence of any symptoms.
