Intestinal Ischemia and Lactate

A 84 y/o woman comes accompained by relatives for abdominal pain.

She is oriented and cooperative, she suffers pain (NRS 10/10).
Abdomen is treatable, but very painful in the lower quadrants, you see green watering diarrhea, she has not fever.
Abdominal Radiograph shows air/fluid levels
WBC: 35000/μl PCR: 22 mg/L Lactate: 1,7


Can you rule out intestinal ischemia?

Conclusion 

The performance of lactate and other serological markers is disappointing and not particularly helpful to rule out intestinal ischemia.

Bibliography 

NJ Evennett, MS Petrov, A Mittal, JA Windsor

Systematic Review and Pooled Estimates for the Diagnostic Accuracy of Serological Markers for Intestinal Ischemia

World J Surg (2009) 33:1374–1383 

Ilenia Spallino

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Acute Dyspnoea and Laboratory

It’s a dark night when a red code arrive at the ED by ambulance. 

Paramedics tell you: “called for acute dyspnoea, I think it’s a COPD exacerbation, he is wheezing, I gave him bronchodilators and steroids, but he is worsening”.

He has a history of  COPD and hypertension. 

He presents sweaty, dyspneic, arterial pressure is high (220/110).

Physical examination is normal except for wheezing.

AP Chest x ray shows no signs of congestion. 




What about BNP? 

Conclusion

Natriuretic peptides have a very high negative predictive value that allows us to rule out dyspnoea of cardiogenic origin when values are normal. However, there are several circumstances in which natriuretic peptides may be elevated for other reasons, and data may be confounded. Thus, especially in cases where NT-proBNP levels are only slightly abnormal, the “grey zone”, echographic assessment of pulmonary congestion could help in the management of patients with dyspnoea. 

Moreover, natriuretic peptide analysis is not always available, especially in peripheral emergency departments, as it requires specialised laboratory equipment. If the assay is not available, ULCs may offer a plausible alternative. In patients admitted with acute dyspnoea, pulmonary congestion, sonographically imaged as ULCs, is significantly correlated to NT-proBNP values 

Bibliography 

L. Gargani a, F. Frassi a , G. Soldati b , P. Tesorio c , M. Gheorghiade d , E. Picano a

Ultrasound lung comets for the differential diagnosis of acute cardiogenic dyspnoea: A comparison with natriuretic peptides

European Journal of Heart Failure 10 (2008) 70–77

Anwaruddin S, Lloyd-Jones DM, Baggish A, et al.

Renal function, con- gestive heart failure, and amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide measurement: results from the ProBNP Investigation of Dyspnea in the Emergency Department (PRIDE) Study. 

J Am Coll Cardiol 2006;47:91–7.

see also...clinical x ray ultrasound

Ilenia Spallino

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Acute dyspnoea and Lung Ultrasound

It’s a dark night when a red code arrive at the ED by ambulance. 

Paramedics tell you: “called for acute dyspnoea, I think it’s a COPD exacerbation, he is wheezing, I gave him bronchodilators and steroids, but he is worsening”.

He has a history of  COPD and hypertension. 

He presents sweaty, dyspneic, arterial pressure is high (220/110).

Physical examination is normal except for wheezing.

AP Chest X ray shows no signs of congestion.

Can you exclude an acute pulmonary oedema? 

Or something else than your stethoscope and x ray is needing? 

Conclusion 

Lung ultrasond has been shown to have greater diagnostic accuracy in differentiating the causes of acute dyspnoea in emergency settings compared with the traditional methods commonly employed in emergency departments (ED).

Its major advantages, particularly over radiographic tech- niques, are the absence of ionising radiation, speed and the fact that it is unaffected by the patient’s breath-hold limita- tions or agitation. 

The reliability of ULCs makes this method appealing for use in the emergency care setting. ULCs provide a direct, morphological, readily apparent imaging of abnormal increases in lung water. Recognition of diffuse interstitial involvement through B-line detection allows some pulmonary diseases to be rapidly ruled out, in particular, COPD exacerbation, which is one of the most common causes of acute dyspnoea. 

Bibliography 

Lichtenstein D, Mezière G (1998) 

A lung ultrasound sign allowing bedside distinction between pulmonary edema and COPD: the comet tail artifact. 

Intensive Care Med 24:1331–1334

L. Cardinale G. Volpicelli F. Binello G. Garofalo S.M. Priola A. Veltri C. Fava

Clinical application of lung ultrasound in patients with acute dyspnoea: differential diagnosis between cardiogenic and pulmonary causes

Radiol med (2009) 114:1053–1064

Lichtenstein DA (2007) 

Ultrasound in the management of thoracic disease. 

Crit Care Med 35:S250–S261

To be continued...

Ilenia Spallino

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Acute appendicitis and Symptoms

A 21 y/o man presents to the ED with pain in right low quadrant (RLQ) , anorexia, nausea and vomiting. His abdomen is soft, with a mild tenderness in RLQ, the psoas sign is positive. The pain is aggravate by cough. You perform kindly a rectal examination with pain.  

Are this signs useful for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis?

Conclusion 

No clinical signs alone is able to rule in or out an acute appendicitis. Rectal examination, still diffused, is not of any utility. 

May we need somwthing else?

Bibliography 


Meta-analysis of the clinical and laboratory diagnosis of appendicitis
British Journal of Surgery 2004; 91: 28-37
R.E.B. Anderson

Ciro Paolillo

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Acute dyspnoea and X-Ray

It’s a dark night when a red code arrive at the ED by ambulance. 

Paramedics tell you: “called for acute dyspnoea, I think it’s a COPD exacerbation, he is wheezing, I gave him bronchodilators and steroids, but he is worsening”.

He has a history of  COPD and hypertension. 

He presents sweaty, dyspneic, arterial pressure is high (220/110).

Physical examination is normal except for wheezing.

AP Chest x ray shows no signs of congestion.

What about the LR of various chest x ray signs of congestion?

Conclusion 

Approximately 1 of every 5 patients with decompensated heart failure had no signs of congestion on ED chest radiography. Twenty percent of cardiomegaly observed on echocardiography is missed on chest radiography, and pulmonary congestion can be minimal or absent in patients with significantly elevated pulmonary artery wedge pressures. Although cephalization, interstitial edema, and alveolar edema were highly specific (96%, 98%, and 99%,respectively) for decompensated heart failure, their low sensitivity (41%, 27%, and 6%, respectively) makes them poor screening tools. The presence of congestion on chest radiography in ED patients with acute decompensated heart failure found a sensitivity of 81%. The presence of cardiomegaly has been shown to have moderate sensitivity (79%) and specificity (80%). Pleural effusion, when present, has been shown to be highly suggestive of acute decompensated heart failure in ED patients (sensitivity 25%; specificity 92%).

Clinicians should not rule out heart failure in patients with no radiographic signs of congestion

…and so what?

Bibliography 

Sean P. Collins, MD* Christopher J. Lindsell, PhD Alan B. Storrow, MD William T. Abraham, MD On behalf of the

Prevalence of Negative Chest Radiography Results in the Emergency Department Patient With Decompensated Heart Failure

ADHEREScientific Advisory Committee, Investigators and Study Group*

Annals of Emergency Medicine

Knudsen CW, Omland T, Clopton P, et al. 

Diagnostic value of B-type natriuretic peptide and chest radiographic findings in patients with acute dyspnea. 

Am J Med. 2004;116:363-368.

To be continued…

Ilenia Spallino

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Acute dyspnoea and clinical findings

It’s a dark night when a red code arrive at the ED by ambulance. Paramedics tell you: “called for acute dyspnoea, I think it’s a COPD exacerbation, he is wheezing, I gave him bronchodilators and steroids, but he is worsening”. He has a history of  COPD and hypertension. He presents sweaty, dyspneic, arterial pressure is high (220/110). Physical examination is normal except for wheezing.

What is the LR of clinical signs in the diagnosis of pulmonary oedema?

Conclusion 

The absence of pulmonary rales (sensitivity 0.60; specificity 0,78; LR + 2,73 LR – 0,51) and the presence of wheezing (sensitivity 0.22; specificity 0,58; LR+ 0,52 LR – 1,34) decreased the likelihood of heart failure insufficently to rule out a pulmonary oedema in a patient presenting with acute dyspnoea.

In acute setting you might  need something more than your stetoscope 

….but is it x ray?

Bibliography 

Does this dyspneic patient in the emergency department have congestive heart failure?

Wang CS, FitzGerald JM, Schulzer M, Mak E, Ayas NT. Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Canada.JAMA. 2005 Oct 19;294(15):1944-56.

To be continued…

Ilenia Spallino

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Clinical Signs and Meningitis

It’s 4 in the morning when a 23 y/o female comes to the ED concerning bilteral legs pain and disuria.
She has not clinical history, she has fever, the pain is bilteral and diffused, “the whole leg pains” and she has difficult in urine, you think about a radiculopathy due to possible neuro system infection (fever, bilateral pain and sphyncter disfuntion)
physics examination is completely normal.
Kerning and Bruzinsky are negative, and she has not rigor nucalis.


Can you rule out a meningitis?

Conclusion 

No physical sign of meningeal irritation could accurately distinguish those with and without meningitis: nuchal rigidity (LR+ 1.33 (0.89, 1.98) and LR- 0.86 (0.70, 1.06)), Kernig's sign (LR+ 1.84 (0.77, 4.35) and LR- 0.93(0.84, 1.03)) and Brudzinski's sign (LR+ 1.69 (0.65, 4.37) and LR- 0.95 (0.87, 1.04))

The sensitivity of Kernig’s and Brudzinski’s signs was first established nearly 100 years ago for patients with severe bacterial or tuberculous meningitis. Althought Brudzinski’s signs can identify patients with severe meningeal inflammation, these diagnostic tools are too insensitive to identify the majority of patients with meningitis in con- temporary practice (including patients with microbiologically treatable disease). Clinical decisions regarding further diag- nostic testing and the need for a lumbar puncture should not rely solely on the presence or absence of these meningeal signs. Better bedside diagnostic tests are needed

Bibliography 

Accuracy of physical signs for detecting meningitis: a hospital-based diagnostic accuracy study. 

Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2010 Nov;112(9):752-7. Epub 2010 Jul. Waghdhare S, Kalantri A, Joshi R, Kalantri S.

The Diagnostic Accuracy of Kernig’s Sign, Brudzinski’s Sign, and Nuchal Rigidity in Adults with Suspected Meningitis 

Med Mal Infect. 2009 Jul-Aug;39(7-8):445-51. 

Sensitivity and specificity of clinical signs in adults. 

Karen E. Thomas,1 Rodrigo Hasbun,1 James Jekel,2 and Vincent J. Quagliarello1

Ilenia Spallino

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