Altered Mental Status in a Child With an Unwitnessed Fall: A Case Report.

We report a case of altered mental status in a 5-year-old boy who presented to the emergency department after presumed head trauma. A computed tomography head was conducted and its findings were normal, and the boy was discharged home. He returned the next day with persistent altered mental status and was found to have an abnormal MR brain suggestive of embolic strokes.

Prehospital Evaluation of Effusion, Pneumothorax, and Standstill (PEEPS): Point-of-care Ultrasound in Emergency Medical Services.

Introduction: In the United States, there are limited studies regarding use of prehospital ultrasound (US) by emergency medical service (EMS) providers. Field diagnosis of life-threatening conditions using US could be of great utility. This study assesses the ability of EMS providers and students to accurately interpret heart and lung US images.

Use of cadaver models in point-of-care emergency ultrasound education for diagnostic applications.

Background: As the use of bedside emergency ultrasound (US) increases, so does the need for effective US education.

Objectives: To determine 1) what pathology can be reliably simulated and identified by US in human cadavers, and 2) feasibility of using cadavers to improve the comfort of emergency medicine (EM) residents with specific US applications.

Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional survey study assessed utility of cadaver simulation to train EM residents in diagnostic US.

Pneumomediastinum after inhalation of helium gas from party balloons.

A previously healthy 16-year-old boy presented to the Emergency Department with a 2-day history of hoarseness, sore throat, and chest tightness. The physical examination was significant for diffuse neck and chest subcutaneous emphysema. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the neck and chest revealed pneumomediastinum after a plain chest X-ray study failed to uncover this finding.