Ultrasonographic measurement of aortic diameter by emergency physicians approximates results obtained by computed tomography.

To assess agreement between emergency physicians' measurements of abdominal aortic diameter using ultrasound in the Emergency Department (ED) and measurements obtained by computed tomography (CT), a double-blinded, prospective study was conducted. The study enrolled a convenience sample of patients over 50 years of age presenting to the ED and scheduled to undergo CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis. Before CT scan, each patient received an ultrasound from a resident or attending emergency physician measuring anterior-posterior aortic diameter transversely at the approximate level of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA), longitudinally midway between the SMA and the iliac bifurcation, and transversely approximately 1 cm above the iliac bifurcation.

Aortic emergencies.

Prompt recognition of actual or impending aortic emergencies is essential to the effective practice of emergency medicine. Understanding the pathophysiologic principles and awareness of the potential subtleties in the clinical presentations of aortic dissection, aneurysm, and occlusive disease are prerequisites to this task. Knowledge of current diagnostic modalities is also important if these entities are to be identified rapidly and managed efficiently to maximize the potential for a good patient outcome.

Scuba diving-induced pulmonary edema in a swimming pool.

SCUBA diving-induced pulmonary edema is a rare syndrome that has been previously reported to occur in cold water. We present a case of SCUBA diving-induced pulmonary edema in a 52-year-old man diving in a warm swimming pool. The pathophysiology of this syndrome is unclear, but it is unrelated to either barotrauma or decompression illness.

Value of routine anaerobic blood cultures for pediatric patients.

Objective: Anaerobic bacteremia rarely occurs in children. Therefore we assessed the usefulness of routinely obtaining anaerobic blood cultures in our pediatric patients.

Study Design: Records of 9360 paired aerobic anaerobic blood culture bottles (Bactec NR660 System) containing blood specimens from pediatric inpatients and outpatients at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.