Infectious endocarditis (IE) is an infection of the heart's endothelial lining, often stemming from an underlying bacteremia. High-risk populations include intravenous substance users, individuals with structural heart disease, those with intravascular devices, and those with prosthetic heart valves. In the emergency department, IE is often suspected in patients with a fever, known risk factors, and unexplained systemic symptoms due to systemic thromboemboli.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Emergency physicians and trainees provide the initial care for critically ill patients. In times of emergency department boarding, this care may extend beyond the first few hours. To meet the needs of this population, a standardized novel critical care curriculum targeting third- and fourth-year medical students was developed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmphysematous pyelonephritis is an acute necrotizing infection of the renal parenchyma, collecting system, and surrounding perinephric tissue, characterized by the presence of gas within these locations on imaging. It is associated with high mortality rates and is often found in diabetic patients. We present the case of a 60-year-old female, with a past history of Von Willebrand disease and hypertension, who presented to our emergency department complaining of acute-on-chronic right knee, left hip, and paraspinal lumbar back pain with an increased frequency of falling for approximately one week.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDermatophytes are fungi that commonly cause superficial skin infections. While these rashes are typically benign and easily treated with topical antifungal medications, extensive presentations can indicate a more serious underlying immunodeficiency. We report on a teenage girl whose extensive rash led to a diagnosis of human immunodeficiency infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNon-odontogenetic oral cysts are rare occurrences in adults, especially when located in the oropharynx. We report a 35-year-old man with an oral cyst large enough to cause dysphagia of several years' duration. The location of the swelling combined with the patient's delay in seeking care and limited access to diagnostic tools prolonged the resolution of this case.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSister Mary Joseph's nodule (SMJN) is a metastatic malignancy of the umbilicus usually indicative of advanced, metastatic disease. It is a rare occurrence, but it may be the first sign of abdominal cancer, most commonly an adenocarcinoma metastasis from a gastrointestinal or gynecologic primary malignancy. We present the case of an 82-year-old woman with an acute, 2 cm non-tender mass located at the umbilicus, diagnostic indication of an SMJN.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis case considers underdosing of analgesics as a prime contributor to hypertension in diffuse axonal injury (DAI) patients who are being mechanically ventilated. In the air medical environment, obtunded patients' hemodynamic parameters are the primary tools available in diagnosing complex disorders such as an acute rise in intracranial pressure (ICP) when invasive ICP monitoring is not available. Therefore, differential diagnoses must follow a continuum, from most severe to least, in order to deal with sudden-onset hypertension rapidly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnilateral cervical chondrocutaneous branchial remnants (CCBRs) are rare, but when present, are typically located over the lateral aspect of the neck along the anterior margin of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. A CCBR in this location is called a choristoma. Here, we describe a choristoma in a 25-year-old female who disclosed a documented diagnosis of Meniere's disease, and an expressed interest in bearing children within the immediate future.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFM06-2X/6-31+G(d,p) is used to study the simultaneous effects of π-π stacking interactions with phenylalanine (modeled as benzene) and hydrogen bonding with small molecules (HF, H(2)O, and NH(3)) on the N1 acidity of uracil and the hydrolytic deglycosylation of 2'-deoxyuridine (dU) (facilitated by fully (OH(-)) or partially (HCOO(-)···H(2)O) activated water). When phenylalanine is complexed with isolated uracil, the proton affinity of all acceptor sites significantly increases (by up to 28 kJ mol(-1)), while the N1 acidity slightly decreases (by ~6 kJ mol(-1)). When small molecules are hydrogen bound to uracil, addition of the phenylalanine ring can increase or decrease the acidity of uracil depending on the number and nature (acidity) of the molecules bound.
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