Emergency department external decontamination for hazardous chemical exposure.

Although external decontamination is an integral aspect of the emergency management of hazardous chemicals exposure, no standard protocol or report of human experience is available. We performed a retrospective review of all patients decontaminated in our emergency department over a 6-y period for hazardous chemicals exposure. Patients were treated by a universal substances protocol in a specially designed decontamination area.

Osteotomy of the trochanter in open reduction and internal fixation of acetabular fractures.

Osteotomy of the trochanter can enhance lateral and posterior exposures of the acetabulum and the retro-acetabular space. Over a two-year period, an osteotomy of the trochanter was done in ten patients in connection with open reduction and internal fixation of a displaced acetabular fracture. The trochanter was reattached by two 6.

Vocal cord paralysis due to pulmonary tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis must be considered in any patient with vocal cord paralysis. Mediastinoscopy, added to the usual diagnostic procedures, may be useful in the differential diagnosis.