Sudden headache, lumbar puncture, and the diagnosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage in patients with a normal computed tomography scans.

Objectives: To assess the usefulness of computed tomography (CT) to identify subarachnoid bleeding in patients with neurologic deficits seeking emergency care for sudden headache within 6 hours of onset of symptoms.

Material And Methods: Retrospective observational study of patients presenting with sudden nontraumatic headache peaking during the previous hour in the absence of neurologic deficits. We ordered CT scans for all patients, and if the scan was normal we performed a lumbar puncture.

Gastric wall abscess presenting as thoracic pain: rare presentation of an old disease.

Acute phlegmonous gastritis, a suppurative infection of the gastric wall, has a high mortality rate. This disease remains a mystery to most clinicians. The rarity of this disease and its nonspecific presentation make early diagnosis difficult, especially in the emergency department.