scholarly journals Perforated Duodenal Diverticulum with Subtle Pneumoretroperitoneum on Abdominal X-Ray

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Yuzeng Shen ◽  
Mark Kwok Fai Leong

Abdominal pain is one of the most common presenting complaints at the Emergency Department (ED). Given the myriad of possible differential diagnoses for abdominal pain, it becomes more important to diagnose conditions requiring emergent surgical intervention early. We present a case of an elderly male patient with abdominal pain secondary to perforated hollow viscus, subtle evidence of pneumoretroperitoneum on the initial supine abdominal X-ray, and review the signs of pneumoperitoneum and pneumoretroperitoneum on plain abdominal X-rays.

CJEM ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (05) ◽  
pp. 347-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valérie Homier ◽  
Colette Bellavance ◽  
Marianne Xhignesse

ABSTRACT Objective: Pneumonia is a well-known cause of acute abdominal pain in children. However, the utility of chest radiography in this setting is controversial. We sought to determine the prevalence of pneumonia in children under 12 years of age who had abdominal pain and underwent abdominal radiography when visiting an emergency department (ED). We also aimed to describe the signs and symptoms of children diagnosed with pneumonia in this context. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of electronic data from ED visits to a tertiary care centre by children 12 years of age and under who were seen between June 1, 2001, and June 30, 2003, and who underwent both an abdominal and a chest radiograph during the same visit, or an abdominal x-ray at a first visit as well as a chest x-ray in the 10 days following the initial visit. Results: Of 1584 visits studied, 30 cases of pneumonia were identified, for a prevalence of 1.89% (95% confidence interval 1.22%–1.56%). If chest radiography had been limited to children who presented with fever, cough and symptoms of an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), the diagnosis of pneumonia would have been missed in only 2/1584 visits (0.13%). Conclusion: Children aged 12 years and under presenting to the ED with acute abdominal pain and in whom an abdominal radiograph is requested need only undergo a chest radiograph in the presence of cough, fever or other symptoms of a URTI.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 179-183
Author(s):  
Lucio Brugioni ◽  
Francesca De Niederhausern ◽  
Chiara Gozzi ◽  
Pietro Martella ◽  
Elisa Romagnoli ◽  
...  

Pericarditis and spontaneous pneumomediastinum are among the pathologies that are in differential diagnoses when a patient describes dorsal irradiated chest pain: if the patient is young, male, and long-limbed, it is necessary to exclude an acute aortic syndrome firstly. We present the case of a young man who arrived at the Emergency Department for chest pain: an echocardiogram performed an immediate diagnosis of pericarditis. However, if the patient had performed a chest X-ray, this would have enabled the observation of pneumomediastinum, allowing a correct diagnosis of pneumomediastinum and treatment. The purpose of this report is to highlight the importance of the diagnostic process.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. e230496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Do Woong Choi ◽  
Michael Yunaev

A 29-year-old, otherwise well, nulligravid woman presented to the emergency department with 1-day history of generalised abdominal pain and vomiting. She had similar symptoms 6 months prior following recent menstruations, which resolved conservatively. She had no prior history of abdominal surgery or endometriosis. CT scan demonstrated distal small bowel obstruction. A congenital band adhesion was suspected, and she underwent prompt surgical intervention. During laparoscopy, a thickened appendix was adhered to a segment of distal ileum. There was blood in the pelvis. Laparoscopic adhesiolysis and appendicectomy were performed. Histopathology demonstrated multiple foci of endometriosis of the appendix with endometrial glands surrounded by endometrial stroma. Oestrogen receptor and CD10 immunostains highlighted the endometriotic foci. The patient made a good recovery and was referred to a gynaecologist for further management.


CJEM ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (S1) ◽  
pp. S83 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Al-Sani ◽  
M. Ben-Yakov ◽  
G. Harvey ◽  
J. Gantz ◽  
D. Jacobson ◽  
...  

Introduction: Our tertiary care institution embarked on the Choosing Wisely campaign to reduce unnecessary testing, and selected the reduction of ankle x-rays as part of its top five priority initiatives. The Low Risk Ankle Rule (LRAR), an evidence-based decision rule, has been derived and validated to clinically evaluate ankle injuries which do not require radiography. The LRAR, is cost-effective, has 100% sensitivity for clinically important ankle injuries and reduces ankle imaging rates by 30-60% in both academic and community setting. Our objective was to significantly reduce the proportion of ankle x-rays ordered for acute ankle injuries presenting to our pediatric Emergency Department (ED). Methods: Medical records were reviewed for all patients presenting to our tertiary care pediatric ED (ages 3- 18 years) with an isolated acute ankle injury from Jan 1, 2016-Sept 30, 2016. Children with outside imaging, an injury that occurred >72 hours prior, or those who had a repeat ED visit for same injury were excluded. Quality improvement (QI) initiatives included multidisciplinary staff education about the LRAR, posters placed within the ED highlighting the LRAR, development of a new diagnostic imaging requisition for ankle x-rays requiring use of the LRAR and collaboration with the Division of Radiology to ensure compliance with new requisition. The proportion of patients presenting to the ED with acute ankle injuries who received x-rays was measured. ED length of stay (LOS), return visits to the ED and orthopedic referrals were collected as balancing measures. Results: At baseline 88% of patients with acute ankle injuries received x-rays. Following our multiple interventions, the proportion of x-rays decreased significantly to 54%, (p<0.001). This decrease in x-ray rate was not associated with an increase in ED LOS, ED return visits or orthopedic referrals. There was an increase uptake of the dedicated x-ray requisition over time to 71%. Conclusion: This QI initiative to increase uptake of the LRAR, resulted in a significant reduction of ankle x-rays rates for children presenting with acute ankle injuries in our pediatric ED without increasing LOS, return visits or need for orthopedic referrals for missed injuries. Just as in the derivation and validation studies, the reductions have been sustained and reduced unnecessary testing and ionizing radiation.


Author(s):  
Noushad Thayyil ◽  
Zohaer S Khan ◽  
Shaheed Mullaveettil ◽  
Maria Jennifer Cordero

Background: Liver abscesses are common in the Emergency Department. A cross-sectional study conducted in Qatar showed pyogenic liver abscesses were more common than amebic abscesses. Spontaneous rupture of pyogenic liver abscess is a rare entity with serious complications. A rupture resulting in peritonitis requires urgent surgical intervention whereas localized abscesses are managed with surgical or image-guided percutaneous drainage in addition to appropriate antibiotics. We report a case of spontaneous rupture of liver abscess presented to our Emergency Department that mimicked perforated hollow viscus. Methods/Case presentation: A 58-year-old male patient presented with fever, generalized weakness, anorexia, and abdominal discomfort for 2 weeks. The patient had a history of Type 2 diabetes mellitus and taking oral hypoglycemics. His initial vital signs revealed a temperature of 38.2°C, heart rate of 104 beats per minute, blood pressure of 150/74 mmHg, respiratory rate of 26 breaths per minute, oxygen saturation of 96% on room air. He appeared sick and dehydrated. Pertinent findings on abdominal examination were epigastric and right upper quadrant tenderness. The laboratory report showed leucocytosis and elevated transaminase. A chest X-ray was ordered and revealed air under the diaphragm . Point of care ultrasound showed a right liver lobe hypoechoic lesion with internal echoes and surrounding free fluid. A computed tomography of the abdomen showed a large hepatic lesion (11.5 x 8.5 x 9 cm), subcapsular in location, containing gas with dependent fluid, suggesting a gas-forming hepatic abscess, with the possibility of rupture and pneumoperitoneum. Results/Findings/Recommendations: The patient was admitted and underwent ultrasound guided drainage of the abscess. His blood and pus culture showed Klebsiella pneumonia and he received Ceftriaxone and Metronidazole intravenously (IV) for 14 days. He was discharged after 15 days with a favorable outcome. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, spontaneous liver abscess rupture resulting in pneumoperitoneum is rare. Chest X-ray findings may mimic perforated hollow viscus.


Author(s):  
Hala Atta Youssef ◽  
Aishah Mohammad Alkhaldi ◽  
Manar Mohammed Alshahrani ◽  
Abdullah Tariq Almalki ◽  
Amjad Ali Alahmari ◽  
...  

Reports showed that children usually complained of acute abdominal pain, which indicated the presence of severe underlying conditions and can have significant clinical importance. Serious challenges have been reported in healthcare settings where an urgent evaluation of the cases was necessary to adequately manage the patient before developing serious complications that might even end up with death. Some of these conditions included intussusception, appendicitis, volvulus and adhesions. Although estimates indicated that only around 1% of pediatric patients with acute abdominal pain usually required surgical intervention, concerns regarding the overlooking and misdiagnosis of significant conditions that might have severe prognostic outcomes were aroused among the different emergency departments. This study reviewed the common causes of acute abdominal pain among children admitted to the emergency department. Our results indicated that various etiologies can develop acute abdominal pain and therefore, establishing an adequate diagnosis by differentiating between the different etiologies should be done by the attending physicians to enhance the outcomes and adequately manage the admitted patients. Gastrointestinal causes of acute abdominal pain were the commonest to cause admissions to the emergency department. However, care should also be provided to the less common conditions, which might include genitourinary and pulmonary disorders and therefore, a thorough examination of children should be provided not to conduct a misdiagnosis of the underlying condition.


PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10152
Author(s):  
Yolanda E. Gomes ◽  
Minh Chau ◽  
Helen A. Banwell ◽  
Josephine Davies ◽  
Ryan S. Causby

Study Objective To assess the adequacy of clinical information with reference to the Ottawa Ankle Rules (OAR) in X-ray referrals for adults with traumatic ankle injury in the ED of a South Australian tertiary hospital and report upon referring trends between emergency department clinicians. Methods A retrospective clinical audit of adult ankle X-ray referrals in the emergency department was conducted. Eligible referrals were screened for their adherence to the OAR, patient details, clinical history and referrer. A logistic regression was used to determine the influence of these factors on the likelihood of being referred for X-rays despite not meeting the OAR criteria. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios and their associated confidence intervals were calculated to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the OAR for those referred. Results Out of the 262 eligible referrals, 163 were deemed to have met the criteria for the OAR. Physiotherapists showed the highest OAR compliance of 77.3% and were the most accurate in their use of the rules, with a sensitivity of 0.86. Medical officers, registrars and interns were 2.5 times more likely to still refer a patient for X-ray if they did not meet the OAR criteria, compared to physiotherapists as the baseline. Patient age, duration of injury etc. were not significantly associated with likelihood of referral (even when they did not meet OAR criteria). The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios of the OAR were 0.59 (95% CI [0.47–0.71]), 0.37 (95% CI [0.30–0.44]), 0.93 (95% CI [0.76–1.16]) and 1.10 (95% CI [0.82–1.48]) respectively. Conclusion The results of this audit demonstrated poor sensitivity and moderate compliance by referrers with the rule. Reasonable evidence exists for the implementation of individual and/or institutional-based change strategies to improve clinician compliance and accuracy with use of the OAR.


2012 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. e95-e95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z Rajković ◽  
D Papeš ◽  
S Altarac ◽  
N Arslani

We present two patients with air found in the right upper quadrant on standard abdominal x-ray. One was diagnosed with pneumobilia and underwent elective surgery for a bilioenteric fistula. The other was diagnosed with portal vein gas and underwent an emergency exploratory laparotomy at which a superior mesenteric artery embolism was found. The differential diagnostic criteria for pneumobilia and portal vein gas are described. If portal venous gas is found on x-ray in patients with abdominal pain, it is recommended that management is aggressive, meaning an emergency exploratory laparotomy, because mortality in such cases is approximately 75%.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Abdelghany ◽  
Luis Gonzalez ◽  
John Slater ◽  
Christopher Begley

We are reporting a unique case of olmesartan associated severe sprue-like enteropathy in a 52-year-old woman who presented to our hospital complaining of severe abdominal pain and nausea. At the emergency department she suffered from a cardiac arrest and was found to have a colon perforation. The patient was treated conservatively without surgical intervention and olmesartan was discontinued. After one month, she had complete resolution of her symptoms.


Author(s):  
Josephine S. van de Maat ◽  
Daniella Garcia Perez ◽  
Gertjan J. A. Driessen ◽  
Anne-Marie van Wermeskerken ◽  
Frank J. Smit ◽  
...  

AbstractThe aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of chest X-ray (CXR) results on antibiotic prescription in children suspected of lower respiratory tract infections (RTI) in the emergency department (ED). We performed a secondary analysis of a stepped-wedge, cluster randomized trial of children aged 1 month to 5 years with fever and cough/dyspnoea in 8 EDs in the Netherlands (2016–2018), including a 1-week follow-up. We analysed the observational data of the pre-intervention period, using multivariable logistic regression to evaluate the influence of CXR result on antibiotic prescription. We included 597 children (median age 17 months [IQR 9–30, 61% male). CXR was performed in 109/597 (18%) of children (range across hospitals 9 to 50%); 52/109 (48%) showed focal infiltrates. Children who underwent CXR were more likely to receive antibiotics, also when adjusted for clinical signs and symptoms, hospital and CXR result (OR 7.25 [95% CI 2.48–21.2]). Abnormalities on CXR were not significantly associated with antibiotic prescription.Conclusion: Performance of CXR was independently associated with more antibiotic prescription, regardless of its results. The limited influence of CXR results on antibiotic prescription highlights the inferior role of CXR on treatment decisions for suspected lower RTI in the ED. What is Known:• Chest X-ray (CXR) has a high inter-observer variability and cannot distinguish between bacterial or viral pneumonia.• Current guidelines recommend against routine use of CXR in children with uncomplicated respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in the outpatient setting. What is New:• CXR is still frequently performed in non-complex children suspected of lower RTIs in the emergency department• CXR performance was independently associated with more antibiotic prescriptions, regardless of its results, highlighting the inferior role of chest X-rays in treatment decisions.


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