Jiraporn Sri-on, Jesda Phumsrisawat, R. Rojsaengroeng
{"title":"Missed Opportunity to Diagnose Palliative Care Need Among Older Emergency Department Patients in a Middle-Income Country: A Retrospective Study","authors":"Jiraporn Sri-on, Jesda Phumsrisawat, R. Rojsaengroeng","doi":"10.2147/OAEM.S449089","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2147/OAEM.S449089","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose This study aimed to determine the percentage of missed opportunities (MOs) to identify and treat older adults presenting with palliative care (PC) needs at one emergency department (ED). The secondary objective was to determine the rate of treatment interventions regardless of whether the patients received a PC plan as well as the direct cost of treatment. Patients and Methods In this retrospective study, PC need was determined using broad and narrow criteria. The subjects comprised patients aged 65 or older who had out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and/or died in the ED (Group 1) or within 72 hours after ED disposition (Group 2) over a 3-year period (2016–2018). Overall, 17,414 older adults visited the ED, 60 died in the ED, and 400 died within 72 hours after ED disposition and admitted to in-hospital ward. In total, 200 patients were randomly selected; of these, 15 were excluded. Results Of the remaining 185 patients enrolled, 161/185 (87%) met the PC criteria and 60/161 (37.3%) were missed opportunities for PC planning. Group 1, had thirty patients, and 8 of those 30 (27%) were missed opportunities for PC planning. Group 2, 131/161 (81.4%), died within 72 hours, and there were 52 missed opportunities (39.7%) of ED PC planning. By comorbidity (Group 2), providers considered PC planning most often for cancer patients (PC: 41.8%; missed opportunities: 15.4%; p = 0.001) and there were more missed opportunities for PC planning among those with ischemic heart disease (PC: 19.0%; missed opportunities: 36.5%; p = 0.025). Conclusion Of the older adults who visited the ED, 87% merited palliative care; further, 37% of opportunities for PC planning were missed. Providers considered PC planning most often for cancer patients. Recognizing PC needs and initiating care in the ED can improve end-of-life quality for dying patients.","PeriodicalId":503614,"journal":{"name":"Open Access Emergency Medicine : OAEM","volume":"211 1","pages":"65 - 73"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140780330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nabeel Almadwahi, Ali Alkadri, Ali S. Fadhel, Mohamed Alshujaa, Faisal Ahmed, Mohamed Badheeb
{"title":"Iatrogenic Vascular Injuries in Resource-Limited Setting: A 4-Year Experience Monocentric Retrospective Study","authors":"Nabeel Almadwahi, Ali Alkadri, Ali S. Fadhel, Mohamed Alshujaa, Faisal Ahmed, Mohamed Badheeb","doi":"10.2147/OAEM.S450213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2147/OAEM.S450213","url":null,"abstract":"Background Iatrogenic vascular injuries (IVIs) due to diagnostic and therapeutic interventions are known but rare or probably under-reported. We present our four-year findings on patients with IVIs after catheterization or surgery who underwent vascular surgical repairs in a resource-limited setting. Methods A retrospective case series study between Jun 2018 and Sep 2022 of 35 patients diagnosed with IVIs and treated surgically at our hospital was included. The data on IVIs including patient characteristics, causes and type of injury, treatment, and outcomes were collected and analyzed. Results The mean age was 37.12± 17.0 years, and most patients (65.7%) were male. Of the 35 IVIs, 21 were caused by percutaneous procedures, while 14 occurred intraoperatively and affected various arteries and veins. The main injured vessels were the femoral artery (20%) and direct blood vessel puncture made by non-qualified specialists (42.9%) during dialysis cannulation was the main cause. The intraoperative IVI affected the inferior vena cava in three patients, the aorta in two patients, the external iliac artery in four, the tibial and popliteal arteries in four, and the internal carotid artery in one. The following types of repairs were recorded: direct suture of the vessel with or without endarterectomy (71.4%), synthetic patch placement (25.7%), ligation (8.6%), bypass or interposition graft (14.3%), and thromboembolectomy (5.7%). Vascular repair was successful in 32 (91.4%) patients while three patients (8.6%) were expired. Complications occurred in 7 (20%) patients, of which superficial wound infections were the common complication (11.6%) and were treated with proper antibiotic therapy. Conclusion Prompt identification of IVIs, as well as proper triage for future treatment, can enhance patient outcomes. Our data showed that non-qualified specialists seem to be responsible for the majority of IVIs. For that, we emphasize the importance of performing vascular procedures by a qualified specialist with adequate training.","PeriodicalId":503614,"journal":{"name":"Open Access Emergency Medicine : OAEM","volume":"125 ","pages":"57 - 64"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140769282","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Post-Traumatic Intracranial Pseudoaneurysm Presenting as Epistaxis","authors":"Ali Hassan, Chad Donley, Praveen Venkatachalam","doi":"10.2147/OAEM.S449026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2147/OAEM.S449026","url":null,"abstract":"Background Epistaxis is a frequent presenting complaint in the Emergency Department (ED). Roughly 60% of the population will suffer from epistaxis in their lifetime. The most common causes of epistaxis include nose picking, facial trauma, foreign bodies, and coagulopathies. There are other causes that are much less common, such as intracranial pseudoaneurysms. There are multiple causes that precipitate intracranial pseudoaneurysm formation, with head trauma accounting for less than 1% of inciting events. Case Report A 24-year-old female with history of traumatic brain injury with associated skull fractures due to a gunshot wound to the head 6 months prior presented to the ED in hemorrhagic shock secondary to epistaxis. After stabilization with the administration of blood products, Computed Tomography with Angiography (CTA) imaging of the head and neck was obtained and revealed a 3.1 × 2.2 × 2.5 cm pseudoaneurysm of the cavernous portion of the right internal carotid artery penetrating through the base of the skull into the ethmoidal sinus. The patient was taken for formal angiography by interventional radiology-and a partially thrombosed daughter sac of the initial aneurysm was identified and believed to be the source of the hemorrhage. The aneurysm was successfully coiled and occluded using ONYX embolization. Postoperatively, the patient returned to her baseline mental status without any acute complaints. The patient was discharged back to her nursing home 2 days later with a 3-week follow-up CTA revealing persistent occlusion of the aneurysm and a patent internal carotid artery. Conclusion Awareness and consideration of intracranial vascular etiology for common complaints in the emergency room, such as Epistaxis, especially in patients with any history of head injury/trauma, known intracranial aneurysms or prosthetic devices from prior surgery may help guide decision-making in managing critically ill patients.","PeriodicalId":503614,"journal":{"name":"Open Access Emergency Medicine : OAEM","volume":"229 ","pages":"75 - 85"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140792312","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abdulfattah Altam, Yasser Obadiel, Rami Salim Alazaiza, Mohamed Ali Alshujaa, Faris Alhajami, Faisal Ahmed, Abdullah Mohammed Al-Naggar, Ahmed Mohamed Albushtra, Mohamed Badheeb
{"title":"Microsurgical Digits Replantation in Resource-Limited Setting: A Retrospective Study","authors":"Abdulfattah Altam, Yasser Obadiel, Rami Salim Alazaiza, Mohamed Ali Alshujaa, Faris Alhajami, Faisal Ahmed, Abdullah Mohammed Al-Naggar, Ahmed Mohamed Albushtra, Mohamed Badheeb","doi":"10.2147/OAEM.S443219","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2147/OAEM.S443219","url":null,"abstract":"Background This article aims to share our experiences with microsurgical finger replantation in a resource-limited setting. Methods This multi-institutional, retrospective study included 21 cases of finger amputation that underwent microsurgical replantation, within 7 years period. Patient demographics, preoperative assessments, surgical approaches, and outcomes were documented and analyzed. A univariate analysis was performed to obtain factors associated with digit reimplantation failure. Results Out of 21 cases included, 8 (38.1%) had complete amputations and 13 (61.9%) had incomplete amputations. Crush injuries accounted for the majority (71.4%). On average, 2.2 ± 1.1 digits were affected, with the ring finger being the most commonly injured (71.4%). The mean operative time was 121.5 ± 26.8 minutes. The success rate of digit replantation was 76.2%. During a mean follow-up of 14.3 ± 3.7 months, 85.7% of successfully replanted digits considered their replantation results satisfactory. The majority of replanted digits demonstrated active and effective holding and grasping abilities without pain or instability (76.2%). Replantation failure was associated with a higher number of affected digits (p < 0.001), longer operative time (p = 0.004), complete avulsion (p = 0.003), current smoking (p = 0.025), diabetes (p = 0.006), hypertension (p = 0.047), procedure difficulty score (p= 0.004), and occurrence of complications (p < 0.001). Conclusion Microsurgical finger replantation can yield favorable outcomes and acceptable survival rates, even within resource-limited settings. However, this procedure requires specialized equipment and personnel that may not be available at all institutions. Influential factors in digit replantation failure, include an increased number of damaged digits, extended operative duration, complete avulsion, current smoking, diabetes, hypertension, procedure difficulty score, and postoperative complications occurrence.","PeriodicalId":503614,"journal":{"name":"Open Access Emergency Medicine : OAEM","volume":"33 22","pages":"1 - 13"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139388728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}