Inferior lumbar triangle hernia with incarceration.

Lumbar hernia is a rare condition in which intra or extraperitoneal tissue protrudes through a defect in the posterolateral region of the flank. Incarceration is uncommon but represents a surgical emergency when present. A 54-year-old-male presented to the ED after sudden onset left flank pain after coughing.

The Ethics of Using the Recently Deceased to Instruct Residents in Cricothyrotomy.

Cricothyrotomy is a rare but crucial procedure in the armamentarium of the emergency physician. The infrequency with which it is performed has led to a reliance on models, simulators, and animals in resident education, but each of these methods has unique drawbacks. Using recently deceased patients as teaching tools has a long history in medicine, though controversy surrounds whether, how, and from whom consent ought to be obtained.

A survey of graduating emergency medicine residents' experience with cricothyrotomy.

Introduction: The Emergency Medicine (EM) Residency Review Committee stipulates that residents perform 3 cricothyrotomies in training but does not distinguish between those done on patients or via other training methods. This study was designed to determine how many cricothyrotomies residents have performed on living patients, the breadth and prevalence of alternative methods of instruction, and residents' degree of comfort with performing the procedure unassisted.

Methods: We utilized a web-based tool to survey EM residents nearing graduation and gathered data regarding the number of cricothyrotomies performed on living and deceased patients, animals, and models/simulators.

Visual side effects of scopolamine/ dextroamphetamine among parabolic fliers.

Introduction: Scopolamine/dextroamphetamine has been used to combat motion sickness generated aboard research aircraft for decades. While it has shown to be effective, previous studies differ as to the presence of visual side effects secondary to scopolamine's anticholinergic properties. This study sought to quantify any such effects in order to determine if they are operationally significant.