Pneumothorax associated with accidental 4-nitrophenyl chlonoformate inhalation in an academic chemistry lab.

An otherwise healthy 16-year-old male presented to the pediatric emergency department 12 hours after accidental inhalation of 4-nitrophenyl chloroformate in a chemistry lab. His only pertinent findings were a complaint of chest tightness and decreased breath sounds on a pulmonary exam. He was found on chest radiograph to have a large right-sided pneumothorax with slight mediastinal shift and mild interstitial prominence.

Computed tomography rates in pediatric trauma patients among emergency medicine and pediatric emergency medicine physicians.

Background: Pediatric trauma patients undergo fewer computed tomography (CT) scans when evaluated at pediatric trauma centers (PTC) versus adult trauma centers (ATC) with no change in clinical outcome. Factors contributing to this difference are unclear. We sought to identify whether the training background of physicians, specifically emergency medicine (EM) versus pediatric emergency medicine (PEM), affected the CT rate of pediatric trauma patients within one institution.

Emergency department implementation of abbreviated magnetic resonance imaging for pediatric traumatic brain injury.

Pediatric head injury is a common presenting complaint in the emergency department (ED), often requiring neuroimaging or ED observation for diagnosis. However, the traditional diagnostic neuroimaging modality, head computed tomography (CT), is associated with radiation exposure while prolonged ED observation impacts patient flow and resource utilization. Recent scientific literature supports abbreviated, or focused and shorter, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a feasible and accurate diagnostic alternative to CT for traumatic brain injury.