Recreational cannabis use: pleasures and pitfalls.

Cannabis is widely used for a variety of reasons, and its changing legal status may foster more new users. Although the acute clinical effects of cannabis are generally benign, clinicians should be aware of health complications and testing limitations.

Emergency medicine resident education in palliative care: a needs assessment.

Background: Hospice and Palliative Medicine is a newly designated subspecialty of Emergency Medicine (EM). As yet, no well defined palliative care (PC) models for education or training exist. A needs assessment is the first step towards developing a curriculum.

Interpreter services in emergency medicine.

Emergency physicians are routinely confronted with problems associated with language barriers. It is important for emergency health care providers and the health system to strive for cultural competency when communicating with members of an increasingly diverse society. Possible solutions that can be implemented include appropriate staffing, use of new technology, and efforts to develop new kinds of ties to the community served.

Curanderismo: consequences of folk medicine.

Curanderismo, folk medicine, is an important and common aspect of Hispanic culture. Its use is not well understood by US medical physicians and is often overlooked when Hispanic patients present to US hospitals. We present a case of isopropyl alcohol toxicity in a 4-year-old child due to the use of a curanderismo treatment of "espanto" (evil spirits).

Incidental finding of Chiari I malformation with progression of symptoms after head trauma: case report.

Chiari I malformation (CMI) is a neurologic structural anomaly involving cerebellar herniation through the foramen magnum. It is most commonly diagnosed in adult patients who are often asymptomatic. Although there are several case reports of sudden death and neurologic deficits after minor head trauma in patients with CMI, little is known about the effects of trauma on CMI.

Tissue plasminogen activator for acute ischemic stroke: a New York city emergency medicine perspective.

Nationally, only 2-3% of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) currently receive tissue plasminogen activator (TPA). To better understand the reasons, we investigated the practice patterns, level of familiarity and acceptance of TPA for AIS among emergency physicians in New York City (NYC). Fifty-seven 911-receiving hospital emergency department directors were surveyed regarding TPA use.

Rapid cyanide detection using the Cyantesmo kit.

Background: Sources of cyanide exposure are many, including combustion of plastic and vinyl, such as in a house fire, laboratory or industrial exposures including exposure in the electroplating industry both of printed circuit boards and in jewelry work. Rapid and definitive diagnosis of cyanide poisoning is unavailable in the emergency department setting. It is desirable to make a definitive diagnosis in order to prevent potential complications of empiric treatment of presumptive cyanide poisoning from the cyanide antidote kit currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).