Items tagged “core condition”
67 results found
Article
Ascending transtentorial herniation
Ascending transtentorial herniation is a situation where space-occupying lesions in the posterior cranial fossa cause superior displacement of superior parts of the cerebellum through the tentorial notch.
Clinical presentation
nausea and/or vomiting
rapid progression toward a decreased leve...
Article
Parapharyngeal abscess
Parapharyngeal abscesses are deep neck abscesses involving the parapharyngeal space. It is a serious medical condition, potentially fatal, and requires prompt diagnosis and treatment.
Epidemiology
A person of any age can develop a parapharyngeal abscess, but it is most commonly seen in childre...
Article
Atlanto-occipital dissociation injuries
Atlanto-occipital dissociation injuries are severe and include both atlanto-occipital dislocations and atlanto-occipital subluxations.
Pathology
The tectorial membrane and alar ligaments provide most of the stability to the atlanto-occipital joint, and injury to these ligaments results in inst...
Article
Renal trauma
Renal trauma can result from direct, blunt, penetrating, and iatrogenic injury.
Epidemiology
Renal injuries account for ~10% of abdominal trauma, and thus the demographic of affected individuals reflect that population. The incidence of renal injuries increases in pre-existing congenital or ac...
Article
Retroperitoneal hemorrhage
Retroperitoneal hemorrhage can be a source of significant yet occult blood loss.
Terminology
Some articles conflate and/or confuse retroperitoneal hemorrhage and Wunderlich syndrome 5. However Wunderlich syndrome refers primarily to bleeding around the kidney, not the retroperitoneum in genera...
Article
Abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rupture is a feared complication of abdominal aortic aneurysm and is a surgical emergency. It is part of the acute aortic syndrome spectrum.
Epidemiology
Abdominal aortic aneurysms are common and affect ~7.5% of patients aged over 65 years 6.
The risk of ruptur...
Article
Esophageal perforation
Esophageal perforation is a rare but serious medical emergency with a very high mortality rate, especially if the diagnosis is delayed.
Epidemiology
Most patients are in their sixties with a slight male predominance 5.
Clinical presentation
Esophageal rupture is iatrogenic from instrumentat...
Article
Tonsillitis
Tonsillitis refers to inflammation of any of the tonsils and is one of the most common head and neck infections in adolescents and young adults.
Clinical presentation
Patients may present with a variety of symptoms including painful throat (may be unilateral), dysphagia, fevers, tender cervica...
Article
Peritonsillar abscess
Peritonsillar abscess or quinsy is the most common deep neck infection, almost always secondary to acute or recurrent tonsillitis.
Epidemiology
Peritonsillar abscesses are most common in 20-40 year-olds with a predominance for males and for smokers. It is less common in children but immunosupp...
Article
Liver trauma
The liver is one of the most frequently damaged organs in blunt trauma, and liver trauma is associated with a significant mortality rate.
Epidemiology
In blunt abdominal trauma, the liver is injured ~5% (range 1-10%) of the time 1,3.
Clinical presentation
Patients can present with right uppe...
Article
Splenic trauma
Splenic trauma can occur after blunt or penetrating trauma or secondary to medical intervention (i.e. iatrogenic). The spleen is the most frequently injured internal organ after blunt trauma.
Epidemiology
In blunt trauma, the spleen can account for up to 49% of abdominal organ injuries 2.
Cli...
Article
Adrenal gland trauma
Adrenal gland trauma most commonly results from blunt force trauma.
Epidemiology
Adrenal gland trauma is present on 1-2% of CT imaging in blunt trauma although the occurrence is thought to be much higher as injury has been demonstrated at 28% in one autopsy series 1-4.
The right adrenal glan...
Article
Bowel and mesenteric trauma
Bowel and mesenteric trauma can result from blunt force, penetrating and iatrogenic trauma. CT is the gold standard imaging modality but CT findings are nonspecific 12.
Epidemiology
The bowel and mesentery are injured in ~2.5% (range 0.3-5%) of blunt force abdominal trauma 1,3,5,8. However not...
Article
Isolated free fluid in trauma
Isolated free fluid in trauma may or may not represent a significant injury, and this creates a diagnostic dilemma in determining appropriate treatment for these patients.
Epidemiology
The presence of isolated free fluid in trauma occurs in 3-5% of blunt trauma patients 1-4.
Pathology
The c...
Article
Pancreatic trauma
The pancreas is uncommonly injured in blunt trauma. However, pancreatic trauma has a high morbidity and mortality rate.
Epidemiology
The pancreas is injured in ~7.5% (range 2-13%) of blunt trauma cases 1,3,7. Motor vehicle accidents account for the vast majority of cases. Penetrating trauma co...
Article
Body packing
Body packing refers to the internal concealment of drugs within the gastrointestinal tract or other orifices. People who do this may be called body packers, (drug) mules, stuffers, couriers or swallowers. Drugs may be concealed within condoms, foil, latex or cellophane.
Epidemiology
There is ...
Article
Airway foreign bodies in children
Airway foreign bodies in children are potentially fatal, which is why immediate recognition is important. Unfortunately, delayed diagnosis is common.
Epidemiology
Children under the age of four years have an increased risk of foreign body (FB) aspiration, with a slight male predominance 1.
C...
Article
Ingested bones
Ingested bones that become lodged in the throat or gastrointestinal tract are a common presentation to the emergency department. Recognition is important because these cases can be potentially fatal.
Clinical presentation
Fish bones are more commonly ingested than chicken or pork bones. Patie...
Article
Aortic pseudoaneurysm
Aortic pseudoaneurysm typically occurs as a result of trauma +/- intervention, and is considered a subset of traumatic aortic injury in the majority of cases. They can be acute or chronic.
Pathology
Aortic pseudoaneurysms are contained ruptures of the aorta in which the majority of the aortic ...
Article
Cauda equina syndrome
Cauda equina syndrome is considered an incomplete cord syndrome, even though it occurs below the conus. Cauda equina syndrome refers to a collection of symptoms and signs that result from severe compression of the descending lumbar and sacral nerve roots. It is most commonly caused by an acutely...
Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.