Beirut Port Blast 2020: New Lessons Learned in Mass Casualty Incident Management in the Emergency Department.

Background: On August 4, 2020, Lebanon suffered its largest mass casualty incident (MCI) to date: the Beirut Port blast. Hospital emergency response to MCIs is particularly challenging in low- and middle-income countries, where emergency medical services are not well developed and where hospitals have to rapidly scale up capacity to receive large influxes of casualties. This article describes the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) response to the Beirut Port blast and outlines the lessons learned.

Complications from Administration of Vasopressors Through Peripheral Venous Catheters: An Observational Study.

Background: The placement of a central venous catheter for the administration of vasopressors is still recommended and required by many institutions because of concern about complications associated with peripheral administration of vasopressors.

Objective: Our aim was to determine the incidence of complications from the administration of vasopressors through peripheral venous catheters (PVC) in patients with circulatory shock, and to identify the factors associated with these complications.

Methods: This was a prospective, observational study conducted in the emergency department (ED) of a tertiary care medical center.

Emergency department crowding and loss of medical licensure: a new risk of patient care in hallways.

We report the case of a 32-year-old male recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes treated at an urban university emergency department (ED) crowded to 250% over capacity. His initial symptoms of shortness of breath and feeling ill for several days were evaluated with chest radiograph, electrocardiogram (EKG), and laboratory studies, which suggested mild diabetic ketoacidosis. His medical care in the ED was conducted in a crowded hallway.