Emergency department experience of primary diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging for the patient with lacunar syndrome

Background

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a particular magnetic resonance imaging technique known as primary diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) for patients with lacunar syndrome in the emergency department (ED).

Methods

Patients with one of five classic lacunar syndromes underwent DWI as primary imaging modality. The DWI findings were classified into groups: (a) having a lesion with high signal intensity, (b) having a lesion with mixed signal intensity, and (c) unremarkable. The final clinical diagnoses were extracted from the patients'' medical records, and used as a reference standard.

Results

Of 151 DWI images, 120 (79%) were interpreted as high signal lesions, 21 (14%) as mixed signal lesions, and 10 (7%) as unremarkable. All patients with high signal lesions or unremarkable findings were diagnosed with ischaemic stroke. The patients with mixed signal lesions were diagnosed with haemorrhagic stroke with an exception of one ischaemic stroke.

Conclusion

Primary DWI is a feasible and useful neuroimaging tool for patients with lacunar syndrome in the ED.     

弥散张量成像FA值和ADC值在颅内肿瘤病变中的应用

目的探讨磁共振弥散张量成像(DTI)FA值和ADC值在颅内肿瘤病变中的应用价值。方法收集经手术及组织病理学证实胶质瘤患者12例,脑膜瘤10例,神经鞘瘤9例,淋巴瘤8例。术前行常规MRI平扫、增强扫描检查,DTI检查、工作站自动生成各向异性指数图(FA图)及表观弥散系数图(ADC图),分别测量肿瘤实质区的FA值、ADC值,分析比较不同肿瘤之间有无统计学差异。通过弥散张量纤维束成像(DTT)在肿瘤区和健侧对应部位重建,主要为白质纤维束,并与肿瘤融合,观察纤维束的形态变化。结果胶质瘤、脑膜瘤、淋巴瘤、神经鞘瘤肿瘤实质区平均FA值为分别FA1:0.318±0.0036,FA2:0.45±0.052,FA3:0.304±0.012,FA4:0.0362±0.071;ADC值分别为:ADC1:1.233±0.204,ADC2:1.061±0.039,ADC3:1.014±0.108,ADC4:1.469±0.062。脑膜瘤FA值最高,神经鞘瘤ADC值最高。淋巴瘤ADC值及FA值较低。各组间比较,按α=0.05水准,组间差别均有统计学意义(F=92.308,P=0.000,F=30.955,P=0.000)。结论不同肿瘤的FA值和ADC值存在明显差异,DTI较常规MRI可更好地观察肿瘤造成的白质纤维束受压移位、浸润与破坏改变。为病变的诊断与鉴别诊断提供更多信息,为手术方案的制定,术后随访提供依据。     

Safe performance of magnetic resonance imaging on a patient with an ICD

This is a report on a patient with an implanted cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) who intentionally underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of a malignant brain tumor. To avoid inadequate detection of ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF), the ICD was inactivated by programming the VT-detection and VT/VF-therapy status off. The patient came through the protocol safely and without any difficulty or discomfort. There was no arrhythmic event. MRI affected neither programmed data nor the function of the ICD system.     

Near hanging presenting to an accident and emergency department.

Victims of near hanging are being increasingly seen in accident and emergency (A&E) department. This paper reports on seven cases of near hanging seen over four years in a district general hospital. The mechanism of injury is ligature strangulation rather than cervical spinal cord injury. All cases of near hanging should be actively and vigorously resuscitated, as initial presenting features bear a poor correlation to eventual outcome.     

Neuralgic amyotrophy presenting to an accident and emergency department.

Two patients with neuralgic amyotrophy (Parsonage-Turner syndrome) are described. Problems arising from the shoulder girdle commonly present to accident and emergency (A&E) departments. Neuralgic amyotrophy is an infrequent neuromuscular disorder which predominantly affects the shoulder girdle. Characterised by severe pain followed by muscle weakness, atrophy, and variable sensory deficits, the diagnosis is based on history and physical findings and is confirmed by electromyography. The prognosis is excellent and treatment is supportive using analgesia and physiotherapy.     

Effects of a general practitioner cooperative co-located with an emergency department on patient throughput

BACKGROUND: In 2013 a General Practitioner Cooperative (GPC) was introduced at the Emergency Department (ED) of our hospital. One of the aims of this co-located GPC was to improve throughput of the remaining patients at the ED. To determine the change in patient flow, we assessed the number of self-referrals, redirection of self-referrals to the GPC and back to the ED, as well as ward and ICU admission rates and length of stay of the remaining ED population.METHODS: We conducted a four months' pre-post comparison before and after the implementation of a co-located GPC with an urban ED in the Netherlands.RESULTS: More than half of our ED patients were self-referrals. At triage, 54.5% of these self-referrals were redirected to the GPC. After assessment at the GPC, 8.5% of them were referred back to the ED. The number of patients treated at the ED declined with 20.3% after the introduction of the GPC. In the remaining ED population, there was a significant increase of highly urgent patients (P<0.001), regular admissions (P<0.001), and ICU admissions (P<0.001). Despite the decline of the number of patients at the ED, the total length of stay of patients treated at the ED increased from 14 682 hours in the two months' control period to 14 962 hours in the two months' intervention period, a total increase of 270 hours in two months (P<0.001).CONCLUSION: Introduction of a GPC led to efficient redirection of self-referrals but failed to improve throughput of the remaining patients at the ED.     

急性颅内出血的MRI诊断价值与序列优化

目的分析急性颅内出血敏感MR序列的征象,明确急性颅内出血MRI诊断的最佳序列组合,探讨脑外伤、中风等急性颅脑损伤MRI一站式诊断的可行性.方法对40例颅内出血病例进行FLAIR、GRE-T2*WI、EPI-T2*WI序列扫描,对不同类型颅内出血敏感序列的征象进行总结,比较FLAIR和GRE-T2*WI序列组合和CT对颅内出血诊断的差异.结果脑实质内出血在GRE-T2*WI上表现为片状均质低信号或是低信号区内混杂点状高信号,FLAIR上表现为片状高信号;蛛网膜下腔出血在GRE-T2*WI上表现为沿脑沟分布的低信号,在FLAIR上表现为沿脑沟分布的高信号带;本病例组中2例硬膜下出血在GRE-T2*WI上无明显阳性发现,在FLAIR上表现为清晰可见的颅骨下方条形高信号;硬膜外出血在GRE-T2*WI上表现为颅骨下方梭形的等信号,与脑实质之间有不规则的低信号区相隔,FLAIR可见梭形高信号.GRE-T2*WI和FLAIR序列组合和CT对颅内出血的诊断价值的差异有显著性意义(P<0.05),GRE-T2*WI和FLAIR序列组合诊断敏感性高于CT.结论 GRE-T2*WI和FLAIR序列组合可以准确诊断不同类型的急性颅内出血,实现脑外伤和中风的一站式诊断.     

Intussusception presenting to a paediatric accident and emergency department.

In a retrospective study, 110 patients episodes with intussusception presenting to a paediatric accident and emergency (A&E) department were reviewed, with particular attention being paid to presenting symptoms, time to diagnosis, radiological investigation, management and outcome. Between 1983 and 1993 100 patients presented to this department with 110 episodes of intussusception. Delay in diagnosis of greater than 12 h from initial medical contact was associated with increased morbidity. Associated factors in delayed diagnosis were departure from the classical symptoms (pain, vomiting and blood per rectum) and the presence of diarrhoea. General practitioner (GP) referral was to the medical team (rather than the surgical team) in around 50% of cases. Irrespective of the specialty of the first hospital doctor to see the patient only 42% were diagnosed correctly within 3 h of admission. In this population diarrhoea is a common symptom of intussusception and should alert the clinician rather than reassure. Because of its many presentations and relative rarity, intussusception remains a difficult condition to diagnose.     

Patients with pulmonary hypertension presenting to the emergency department

ObjectivesPulmonary hypertension (PH) patients represent a complex subset of patients in the emergency department (ED), yet little is known about their presentations and outcomes. The objective of this study is to analyze the demographics, dispositions and the rates of return visits for PH patients visiting the ED, focusing on PH patients identified as having high frequency visits.MethodsWe performed a retrospective cohort analysis of all patients with ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM codes corresponding to PH presenting to an academic medical center emergency department during a 21-month period. The primary outcome was patients with high frequency ED visits, defined as 4 or more visits in a 12-month period. Secondary outcomes included ED dispositions, return ED visits, hospital length of stay, and in-hospital mortality.ResultsSix hundred and eighty four unique patients with a coded diagnosis of PH visited the emergency department a total of 1447 times. Eighty-four patients (12.28%) were identified as having high frequency visits. Factors associated with high frequency ED visits included male sex, liver disease, rheumatologic disease, and having Group 1 PH. PH patients’ admission rate was substantial at 56.60%, and their inpatient mortality was increased (6.7% vs 3.7% for all admissions from ED, P < 0.0001).ConclusionPH patients in this study had frequent return ED visits, as well as elevated admission and readmission rates. Factors associated with high frequency ED visits included male sex, liver disease, rheumatologic disease, and Group 1 PH. PH patients also had increased mortality rates compared to the general ED population.     

Incidence and risk factors of delayed intracranial hemorrhage in the emergency department

Objectives

This study was performed to identify the risk factors for delayed intracranial hemorrhage and develop a risk stratification system for disposition of head trauma patients with negative initial brain imaging.

Occupational accidents presenting to the accident and emergency department.

A prospective survey of patients attending the major Accident and Emergency Department in Aberdeen was undertaken. This department serves a population of 500,000 and sees some 50% of all accidents in the region. All work-related injuries were identified and information relating to the circumstances of the accident, injury sustained, and treatment required was sought. Work-related injuries accounted for 16.5% of new patients attending the department. The commonest injury type was a laceration to a finger. Three hundred and eighty diagnostic X-rays were undertaken and a total of 910 treatments were required over a 27-day period. On an annual basis, it is estimated that some 5100 radiographs and 12,300 medical treatments would be required for work-related accidents. It is estimated that 30% of injuries to the hands and feet would have been prevented by the wearing of appropriate personal protective equipment. The majority of workplace accidents were correctly referred to A&E and any efforts to reduce this workload must concentrate on preventive measures in the workplace. This paper suggests that documenting work-related accidents and determining targets for preventive action would reduce the number of attendances at A&E units with a potential significant saving for industry and the National Health Service.     

A case of muscle abscess presenting to an accident and emergency department.

A case is reported of a patient with acute primary muscle abscess who presented to the accident and emergency department with hip pain. Pyomyositis must be considered as a cause of muscle pain especially around the hip. A brief discussion of the diagnosis and management of pyomyositis is also presented.     

An unusual cause of constipation presenting to the emergency department.

A case report of a 16-year-old girl who presented to the emergency department with constipation and recurrent urinary tract infections is examined. She gave a history of persistent coccygeal pain stemming from a fall on a trampoline 1 year ago. On examination, she was found to have an abdominal mass arising from the pelvis and paraesthesia of S1-S5 dermatomes in the right leg. An abdominal radiograph showed bony erosion of the sacrum. Magnetic resonance scanning revealed a mass arising from the sacrum and subsequent biopsy diagnosed the tumour as Ewing's sarcoma.