Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M C Plewa.
Plain abdominal radiographs are rarely diagnostic when the patient presents with acute abdominal pain. Emergency physicians, therefore, should be aware of the appropriate indications and limitations of abdominal films in this setting and should be skilled in their interpretation to exclude the rare cases of pneumoperitoneum, pneumobilia, hepatic-portovenous gas, small and large bowel obstruction, toxic megacolon, volvulus and intramural gas.
STUDY OBJECTIVES: Manual translaryngeal jet ventilation (TLJV) is a safe and effective method of maintaining normal ventilation in apneic subjects. Little data exist on the amount of airway protection afforded with this technique of airway management. We sought to evaluate the risk of aspiration during manual TLJV. SETTING: Data were collected in a laboratory animal model. DESIGN: A prospective, nonrandomized, controlled trial was performed. PARTICIPANTS: Seventeen adult apneic mongrel dogs were enrolled. INTERVENTIONS: Intratracheal Gastrograffin was instilled and radiographic changes assessed during ventilation using a 0 to 3 scale (none to severe). Thirty-six trials were performed, with equal numbers at both 30 degrees and 45 degrees head elevation. The three groups studied were animals without airway protection (control), animals with a cuffed endotracheal tube (tube), and animals with a percutaneous TLJV cannula and a 50-psi oxygen source ventilated at a rate of 20 breaths per minute (jet). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Significantly less radiographic evidence of aspiration was noted in the jet and tube groups at 30 degrees and 45 degrees compared with control animals (P = .002 each). At 45 degrees head elevation a trend toward increased aspiration scores in the jet group compared with the tube group (P = .065) was observed. CONCLUSION: In our model, manual TLJV at 20 breaths per minute and an I:E ratio of 1:2 provided protection from aspiration comparable to that observed with a cuffed endotracheal tube at 30 degrees head elevation. At 45 degrees elevation, this protection was diminished.
Infection remains one of the most common causes for Emergency Department evaluation and hospital admission in the elderly. Unfortunately, aged individuals may not manifest the typical symptoms and signs as their younger counterparts. The emergency physician must recognize that the elderly individual may exhibit a less vigorous physiologic response to infectious states, which can delay or make diagnosis difficult. This article attempts to explain the apparent dysfunctions in the elderly that places this important population at greater risk for certain infections.