Post-Tracheostomy Vascular Injury to the Anomalous Thymic Branch Managed by Endovascular Coiling

2021 ◽  
pp. 153857442110515
Author(s):  
Nirmalya Ray ◽  
Chirag Kamal Ahuja ◽  
Ajay Kumar ◽  
Naresh Panda ◽  
Paramjeet Singh

Background Tracheostomy-related arterial haemorrhage can be devastating especially if arising from an obscure anomalous vessel which can potentially complicate treatment decision. Methods We report a case of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma with upper airway obstruction, who had profuse bleeding, post-tracheostomy, from the stomal site. CT angiography showed presence of a pseudoaneurysm adjacent to the tracheostomy site which was confirmed on catheter angiography to be arising from anomalous thymic branch of right common carotid artery (CCA). Superselective cannulation of the anomalous thymic artery was done using a microcatheter with subsequent coil embolization. Results Post-coiling, the bleeding stopped immediately and the patient recovered. He was under oncology care till 3 months following embolization and was doing well. Conclusions The emergency physicians should be aware of this rare variation of thymic artery while performing tracheostomy. Ultrasound as point-of-care device may help mitigate these complications. Endovascular embolization is a minimally invasive and effective management option for an injured arterial branch from a tracheostomy.

2021 ◽  
Vol 163 (5) ◽  
pp. 1527-1540
Author(s):  
Ethan A. Winkler ◽  
Anthony Lee ◽  
John K. Yue ◽  
Kunal P. Raygor ◽  
W. Caleb Rutledge ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Currently, most basilar artery aneurysms (BAAs) are treated endovascularly. Surgery remains an appropriate therapy for a subset of all intracranial aneurysms. Whether open microsurgery would be required or utilized, and to what extent, for BAAs treated by a surgeon who performs both endovascular and open procedures has not been reported. Methods Retrospective analysis of prospectively maintained, single-surgeon series of BAAs treated with endovascular or open surgery from the first 5 years of practice. Results Forty-two procedures were performed in 34 patients to treat BAAs—including aneurysms arising from basilar artery apex, trunk, and perforators. Unruptured BAAs accounted for 35/42 cases (83.3%), and the mean aneurysm diameter was 8.4 ± 5.4 mm. Endovascular coiling—including stent-assisted coiling—accounted for 26/42 (61.9%) treatments and led to complete obliteration in 76.9% of cases. Four patients in the endovascular cohort required re-treatment. Surgical clip reconstruction accounted for 16/42 (38.1%) treatments and led to complete obliteration in 88.5% of cases. Good neurologic outcome (mRS ≤ 2) was achieved in 88.5% and 75.0% of patients in endovascular and open surgical cohorts, respectively (p = 0.40). Univariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that advanced age (OR 1.11[95% CI 1.01–1.23]) or peri-procedural adverse event (OR 85.0 [95% CI 6.5–118.9]), but not treatment modality (OR 0.39[95% CI 0.08–2.04]), was the predictor of poor neurologic outcome. Conclusions Complementary implementation of both endovascular and open surgery facilitates individualized treatment planning of BAAs. By leveraging strengths of both techniques, equivalent clinical outcomes and technical proficiency may be achieved with both modalities.


2021 ◽  
pp. 875647932098324
Author(s):  
Mohammad Amin Zare ◽  
Mahtab Mizani ◽  
Azadeh Sameti ◽  
Alireza Bahmani ◽  
Marzieh Fathi

Objective: There has always been some issues in the accurate diagnosis of pneumonia, a common cause of emergency department (ED) visits and revisits, which is typically made based on the patient’s clinical syndrome. This is made more difficult due to the traditional chest radiography having limited accuracy. This prospective multicenter study was conducted to determine the diagnostic accuracy of a point-of-care lung sonography performed by emergency physicians for the diagnosis of pneumonia in an acute care setting. This was compared with chest computed tomography (CT), the diagnostic gold standard. Methods: ED patients who presented with signs and symptoms of pneumonia were eligible to enroll in the study. After enrollment, point-of-care lung sonography was performed on patients by emergency physicians who had passed a focused teaching course on lung sonographic findings of pneumonia. All enrolled patients were followed up. Patients who underwent a chest CT during their hospital admission course were finally included and analyzed. Results: Emergency physicians who performed a point-of-care lung sonography had a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 75%, positive predictive value of 88.88%, negative predictive value of 100%, and an overall accuracy of 90% in the diagnosis of pneumonia. Conclusion: These emergency physicians could accurately diagnose pneumonia, with a point-of-care lung sonography, after completing a focused sonography course.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Joshua S. Catapano ◽  
Mohamed A. Labib ◽  
Visish M. Srinivasan ◽  
Candice L. Nguyen ◽  
Kavelin Rumalla ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE The Barrow Ruptured Aneurysm Trial (BRAT) was a single-center trial that compared endovascular coiling to microsurgical clipping in patients treated for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). However, because patients in the BRAT were treated more than 15 years ago, and because there have been advances since then—particularly in endovascular techniques—the relevance of the BRAT today remains controversial. Some hypothesize that these technical advances may reduce retreatment rates for endovascular intervention. In this study, the authors analyzed data for the post-BRAT (PBRAT) era to compare microsurgical clipping with endovascular embolization (coiling and flow diverters) in the two time periods and to examine how the results of the original BRAT have influenced the practice of neurosurgeons at the study institution. METHODS In this retrospective cohort study, the authors evaluated patients with saccular aSAHs who were treated at a single quaternary center from August 1, 2007, to July 31, 2019. The saccular aSAH diagnoses were confirmed by cerebrovascular experts. Patients were separated into two cohorts for comparison on the basis of having undergone microsurgery or endovascular intervention. The primary outcome analyzed for comparison was poor neurological outcome, defined as a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score > 2. The secondary outcomes that were compared included retreatment rates for both therapies. RESULTS Of the 1014 patients with aSAH during the study period, 798 (79%) were confirmed to have saccular aneurysms. Neurological outcomes at ≥ 1-year follow-up did not differ between patients treated with microsurgery (n = 451) and those who received endovascular (n = 347) treatment (p = 0.51). The number of retreatments was significantly higher among patients treated endovascularly (32/347, 9%) than among patients treated microsurgically (6/451, 1%) (p < 0.001). The retreatment rate after endovascular treatment was lower in the PBRAT era (9%) than in the BRAT (18%). CONCLUSIONS Similar to results from the BRAT, results from the PBRAT era showed equivalent neurological outcomes and increased rates of retreatment among patients undergoing endovascular embolization compared with those undergoing microsurgery. However, the rate of retreatment after endovascular intervention was much lower in the PBRAT era than in the BRAT.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-86
Author(s):  
Nalan Kozaci ◽  
Mustafa Avci ◽  
Gul Tulubas ◽  
Ertan Ararat ◽  
Omer Faruk Karakoyun ◽  
...  

Objectives: This prospective study was performed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of bedside point-of-care abdominal ultrasonography performed by emergency physician in patients with non-traumatic acute abdominal pain. Methods: The patients, who were admitted to emergency department due to abdominal pain, were included in this study. The emergency physician obtained a routine history, physical examination, blood draws, and ordered diagnostic imaging. After the initial clinical examinations, all the patients underwent ultrasonography for abdominal pathologies by emergency physician and radiologist, respectively. Point-of-care abdominal ultrasonography compared with abdominal ultrasonography performed by radiologist as the gold standard. Results: The study included 122 patients. Gallbladder and appendix pathologies were the most commonly detected in the abdominal ultrasonography. Compared with abdominal ultrasonography, point-of-care abdominal ultrasonography was found to have 89% sensitivity and 94% specificity in gallbladder pathologies; 91% sensitivity and 91% specificity in acute appendicitis; 79% sensitivity and 97% specificity in abdominal free fluid; 83% sensitivity and 96% specificity in ovarian pathologies. Compared to final diagnosis, preliminary diagnoses of emergency physicians were correct in 92 (75.4%) patients. Conclusion: This study showed that emergency physicians were successful in identifying abdominal organ pathologies with point-of-care abdominal ultrasonography after training.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Pourmand ◽  
U. Dimbil ◽  
A. Drake ◽  
H. Shokoohi

Radiological imaging plays an essential role in the evaluation of a patient with suspected small bowel obstruction (SBO). In a few studies, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has been utilized as a primary imaging modality in patients with suspected SBO. POCUS has been shown to be an accurate tool in the diagnosis of SBO with multiple research studies noting a consistent high sensitivity with a range of 94–100% and specificity of 81–100%. Specific sonographic findings that increase the likelihood of SBO include dilatation of small bowel loops > 25 mm, altered intestinal peristalsis, increased thickness of the bowel wall, and intraperitoneal fluid accumulation. Studies also reported that emergency physicians could apply this technique with limited and short-term ultrasound training. In this article, we aim to review the sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound examinations performed by emergency physicians in patients with suspected SBO.


Author(s):  
Carole J Decker ◽  
Emily Chhatriwalla ◽  
Brian Garavalia ◽  
John A Spertus ◽  
Er Chen ◽  
...  

Background: Explaining the risks and benefits of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) occurs in a hurried conversation in the emergency department and may not be fully grasped by patients and their caregivers. Risk models describing the heterogeneity of benefits from rt-PA in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) have been created, but are not used in routine clinical practice. To develop a tool (RESOLVE) for modeling each patient’s benefits and risks for rt-PA, we conducted qualitative interviews with survivors, their caregivers and emergency physicians to inform the design and improve usability. Methods: A multidisciplinary research team conducted qualitative research through 10 focus groups of survivors and caregivers. We obtained feedback on their preferred role, desired information and their impressions of alternative formats for presenting risk and benefits. Three emergency physicians from 2 sites have been interviewed (with >15 additional physician interviews being currently conducted, the results of which will supplement these preliminary data at the time of presentation). Results: Survivors and caregivers (63 participants: 39 stroke survivors; 43% male) express a need for more information, including specific risks and benefits to treatment. In general, both groups desired an active role in the acute stroke treatment decision. In contrast, the initial physician interviews indicated a hesitancy to provide NINDS data to patients and caregivers, skepticism of the existing data and cultural barriers to the use of rt-PA in AIS, the latter acquired through residency training or the opinions of their clinical colleagues. The interviewed clinicians, however, felt more positive about using rt-PA when a neurologist was readily available to support the decision. Conclusions: Preliminary findings suggest reluctance by emergency physicians to share data about the benefits of rt-PA to stroke patients and their caregivers, despite the desire of the latter for such information. While the additional planned interviews will be needed to confirm these findings, preliminary insights suggest a compelling need to overcome the reticence of emergency physicians to use clinical data to better engage patients in making a shared decision about rt-PA in AIS.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 608.e1-608.e6 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Friedman ◽  
Z. Pancer ◽  
R. Savic ◽  
F. Tseng ◽  
M.S. Lee ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (11) ◽  
pp. 2893-2900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nir Friedman ◽  
Felicia Tseng ◽  
Ranko Savic ◽  
Mamadou Diallo ◽  
Kate Fathi ◽  
...  

CJEM ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (S1) ◽  
pp. S66-S66
Author(s):  
D. Wiercigroch ◽  
S. Friedman ◽  
D. Porplycia ◽  
M. Ben-Yakov

Introduction: The use of regional anesthesia (RA) by emergency physicians (EPs) is expanding in frequency and range of application as expertise in point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) grows, but widespread use remains limited. We sought to characterize the use of RA by Canadian EPs, including practices, perspectives and barriers to use in the ED. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of Canadian EPs was administered to members of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP), consisting of sixteen multiple choice and numerical responses. Responses were summarized descriptively as percentages and as the median and inter quartile range (IQR) for quantitative variables. Results: The survey was completed by 149/1144 staff EPs, with a response rate of 13%. EPs used RA a median of 2 (IQR 0-4) times in the past ten shifts. The most broadly used applications were soft tissue repair (84.5% of EPs, n = 126), fracture pain management (79.2%, n = 118) and orthopedic reduction (72.5%, n = 108). EPs agreed that RA is safe to use in the ED (98.7%) and were interested in using it more frequently (78.5%). Almost all (98.0%) respondents had POCUS available, however less than half (49.0%) felt comfortable using it for RA. EPs indicated that they required more training (76.5%), a departmental protocol (47.0%), and nursing assistance (30.2%) to increase their use. Conclusion: Canadian EPs engage in limited use of RA but express an interest in expanding their use. While equipment is available, additional training, protocols, and increased support from nursing staff are modifiable factors that could facilitate uptake of RA in the ED.


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