Metformin-Associated Lactic Acidosis Presenting Like Acute Mesenteric Ischemia.

Background: Metformin-associated lactic acidosis is a rare but serious complication of taking metformin. Making the diagnosis in the emergency department requires vigilance because the presentation can mimic other diseases.

Case Report: We present a case of a patient with diabetes who presented moribund with symptoms and signs consistent with mesenteric ischemia.

Evidence-Based Management Of Acute Hand Injuries In The Emergency Department.

Although injuries of the hand are infrequently life-threatening, they are common in the emergency department and are associated with significant patient morbidity and medicolegal risk for physicians. Care of patients with acute hand injury begins with a focused history and physical examination. In most clinical scenarios, a diagnosis is achieved clinically or with plain radiographs.

The prevalence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health education and training in emergency medicine residency programs: what do we know?

Background: The Institute of Medicine, The Joint Commission, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services all have recently highlighted the need for cultural competency and provider education on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health.

Healthcare-associated pneumonia in the emergency department.

Emergency medicine clinicians frequently diagnose and treat patients with pneumonia. The recent recognition of healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) mandates that emergency medicine clinicians remain current and able to distinguish this from community-acquired pneumonia. This article reviews the diagnosis and management of HCAP from the perspective of the emergency medicine clinician.

The AIDS patient with abdominal pain: a new challenge for the emergency physician.

As the prevalence of HIV infection continues to increase, EPs will be called upon to evaluate increasing numbers of AIDS patients who have abdominal pain, some of whom will require emergent surgical intervention. In addition to the myriad causes of abdominal pain in the nonimmunocompromised patient, the differential diagnosis in the AIDS patient includes a wide variety of opportunistic infections and neoplasms (Table 5). Evaluation frequently requires extensive laboratory studies and cultures and advanced imaging (CT, ultrasound, and so forth).