Diagnosis of acute aortic syndromes with ultrasound and d-dimer: the PROFUNDUS study.

Background: In patients complaining common symptoms such as chest/abdominal/back pain or syncope, acute aortic syndromes (AAS) are rare underlying causes. AAS diagnosis requires urgent advanced aortic imaging (AAI), mostly computed tomography angiography. However, patient selection for AAI poses conflicting risks of misdiagnosis and overtesting.

Deficits in blood culture collection in the emergency department if sepsis is suspected: results of a retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: Blood cultures (BCs) are key for pathogen detection in septic patients. We investigated the extent to which sampling was performed and what factors were associated with the absence of general or inadequate BC sampling.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of hospitalized patients with sepsis admitted to one of three EDs in 2018.

S2k guideline diagnosis and treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Carbon monoxide (CO) can occur in numerous situations and ambient conditions, such as fire smoke, indoor fireplaces, silos containing large quantities of wood pellets, engine exhaust fumes, and when using hookahs. Symptoms of CO poisoning are nonspecific and can range from dizziness, headache, and angina pectoris to unconsciousness and death. This guideline presents the current state of knowledge and national recommendations on the diagnosis and treatment of patients with CO poisoning.

Computed Tomography Imaging in Simulated Ongoing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: No Need to Switch Off the Chest Compression Device during Image Acquisition.

Computed tomography (CT) represents the current standard for imaging of patients with acute life-threatening diseases. As some patients present with circulatory arrest, they require cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Automated chest compression devices are used to continue resuscitation during CT examinations, but tend to cause motion artifacts degrading diagnostic evaluation of the chest.