Articles Tagged With: Diagnostics
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A Hidden Rhythm
The only clinical information available for this tracing is that the ECG was obtained from an older woman. Without any other background, where should we go from here?
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Delays in Acute Stroke Treatment Contribute to Malpractice Claims
Recent research findings underscore the importance of always considering stroke in the differential diagnosis of altered mental status, even when the patient does not arrive by EMS.
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CDC: Be Wary of Travelers From African Outbreaks
Marburg virus has caused outbreaks in two African nations, and healthcare workers should be aware of travel history for incoming patients with classic hemorrhagic fever symptoms.
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Researchers Use Advanced Technology to Detect MIS-C
Scientists want to improve diagnostic techniques for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, which became a confounding problem during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Unexpected Low Voltage on an ECG
A registry study of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients and elite athletes in Italy revealed low voltage on ECG is not uncommon in HCM and may be a marker for more left ventricular scarring on cardiac imaging — and a poor prognosis.
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Stroke and a Wide QRS
The ECG in the figure is from an older man who presented with an acute stroke. He denied chest pain. Why is there QRS widening? What might be the clinical implications?
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Give Actionable Incidental Findings Proper Attention
New recommendations help health systems implement processes that will preserve patient safety. These tips aim to make it easy for providers to do right by their patients when clinicians identify actionable incidental findings.
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Malpractice Lawsuits Allege ED Missed Intracranial Aneurysms
Failure to image patients is a relatively frequent cause of litigation, but it should be seen in context. It is not so much incorrect interpretations of imaging studies; rather, failure to consider the possibility of an aneurysm, resulting in an inadequate workup, is a more common allegation.
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Does a Clinical Decision Aid Constitute the Legal Standard of Care?
Each emergency physician should undertake the appropriate medical approach to evaluating a patient, regardless of any recommended course of action. The medical record should support using the recommended path or justify another course of action.
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Did EP Decide Not to Follow Recommendation of Computer Decision Aid?
The medical record should demonstrate the clinician saw the recommendation, thought about it, and decided what to do. The clinician still may be wrong. But now, it is more of a judgment error than simple carelessness.