The erector spinae plane block for acute pain management in emergency department patients with rib fractures.

Objective: Rib fractures represent a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in trauma patients. The erector spinae plane block has come to the forefront as a potential safe and effective option for analgesia in painful conditions of the thorax over multiple dermatomal levels. Given the high morbidity associated with rib fractures, the inadequacy of opioid analgesia and the strong safety profile of the erector spinae plane block, this pilot study sought to address whether this block can be used to safely and effectively provide analgesia in emergency department (ED) patients with acute rib fractures.

Ultrasound-Guided Needle Aspiration of an Iliac Crest Abscess in a Pediatric Emergency Department.

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an integral part of pediatric emergency medicine. One evolving use of POCUS is in the diagnosis and management of skin and soft tissue infections. Point-of-care ultrasound can be used to identify clinically occult infections and can be used to guide percutaneous drainage of both superficial and deep abscesses.

Validity and utility of ICD-10 administrative health data for identifying ST- and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction based on physician chart review.

Background: Health care administrative databases are useful for assessing the population-level burden of disease and examining issues related to access, costs and quality of care. In these databases, the diagnoses and procedures are coded with the use of the World Health Organization International Classification of Diseases (ICD). We examined the validity of 2 ICD-10 coding definitions for categorizing patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) as having ST-elevation MI (STEMI) or non-ST-elevation MI (non-STEMI).

Intact limbic-prefrontal connections and reduced amygdala volumes in Parkinson's disease with mild depressive symptoms.

Background: Depression is very common in Parkinson's disease (PD). The neuropathological basis for this remains unclear; however, dysfunction in prefrontal and limbic regions may play a role.

Methods: We examined non-demented PD patients with and without depression and healthy controls (n = 6 per group) for differences in limbic structures and connections between these structures and the prefrontal cortex.