Interrater agreement of the HEART score history component: A chart review study.

Study objectives: This study investigated the interrater reliability of the history component of the HEART (history, electrocardiogram, age, risk, troponin) score between physicians in emergency medicine (EM) and internal medicine (IM) at 1 tertiary-care center. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, secondary analysis of 60 encounters selected randomly from a database of 417 patients with chest pain presenting from January to June 2016 to an urban tertiary-care center. A total of 4 raters (1 EM attending, 1 EM resident, 1 IM attending, and 1 IM resident) scored the previously abstracted history data from these encounters.The primary outcome was the interrater agreement of HEART score history components, as measured by kappa coefficient, between EM and IM attending physicians. Secondary outcomes included the agreement between attending and resident physicians, overall agreement, pairwise percent agreement, and differences in scores assigned. Results: The kappa value for the EM attending physician and IM attending physician was 0.33 with 55% agreement. Interrater agreement of the other pairs was substantial between EM attending and resident but was otherwise fair to moderate. Percent agreement between the other pairs ranged from 48.3% to 80%. There was a significant difference in scores assigned and the subgroup in which there was disagreement between the raters demonstrated significantly higher scores by the EM attending and resident when compared to the IM attending. Conclusion: This study demonstrates fair agreement between EM and IM attending physicians in the history component of the HEART score with significantly higher scores by the EM attending physician in cases of disagreement at 1 tertiary-care center.

Analysis of U.S. Pacific Command Area of Operations Military Medical Transportations of Adult Patients, 2008 to 2018.

INTRODUCTION: With more than 370,000 military and civilian personnel stationed across Pacific Command (PACOM), medical evacuation in this largest command presents unique challenges. The authors describe medical evacuations analyzed from the U.S. Air Force Transportation Command Regulating and Command & Control Evacuation System (TRAC2ES) in PACOM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of all TRAC2ES medical records for medical evacuations of adult patients from the PACOM theater of operations conducted between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2018. We abstracted free text data entry in TRAC2ES to characterize the diagnoses requiring patient movement. Data are presented using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: During this 11-year period, 3,328 PACOM TRAC2ES encounters met inclusion criteria. Of these evacuations, 65.8% were male and were comprised mostly of active duty military (1,600, 48.1%) and U.S. civilians (1,706, 51.3%). Most transports originated in Japan (1,210 transports, 36.4%) or Guam (924 transports, 27.8%) with Hawaii (1,278 transports, 38.4%) as the most frequent destination. The majority of evacuations were routine (72.5%) with only 4.9% urgent evacuations. Medical conditions (2,905 transports, 87%) accounted for the largest proportion of transports, surpassing injuries (442 transports, 13%). The most common reasons for medical transports were behavioral health (671 transports, 20.2%) and cardiovascular disease (505 transports, 15.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of medical evacuations in PACOM were because of medical illness with routine precedence category, mirroring the largely noncombat operations occurring across this large area.

Interrater Agreement and Reliability of Burn Size Estimations Between Emergency Physicians and Burn Unit.

The initial approach to burn injuries has remained relatively unchanged over the past several decades and revolves around trauma assessment and fluid resuscitation, frequently initiated in the emergency department (ED). While previous research suggests that emergency physicians (EP) are poor estimators at total body surface area (TBSA) affected, we believe that estimation differences are improving, specifically at academic centers with co-located burn units that emphasize burn injury education. This study investigated the interrater agreement and reliability of burn size estimations at an academic ED and its co-located burn unit. This single-center, retrospective study was conducted at a large academic ED with a co-located burn unit. The study included adult patients admitted to the burn unit after receiving paired burn size estimations from EPs and the burn unit. The primary endpoint was the interrater agreement, measured by the kappa coefficient, κ, of 10% TBSA estimation intervals. The secondary endpoint was the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), evaluating the reliability of exact, nonranged, and TBSA estimations. A chart review was performed for patients evaluated from November 1, 2016 to July 31, 2019. One thousand one hundred and eighty-four patients were admitted to the burn unit, 1176 of which met inclusion criteria for the primary endpoint. The κ of TBSA between EPs and the burn unit was 0.586, while the weighted κ was 0.775. These values correlate with moderate and substantial agreements, respectively. Additionally, 971 patients had exact TBSA estimations from paired EPs and the burn unit which were used for the secondary endpoint. The ICC between EPs and the burn unit was 0.966, demonstrating an excellent reliability. Further sub-analysis was performed, revealing mean over- and underestimation differences of exact TBSA estimations of 3.93 and 2.93, respectively. EPs at academic institutions with co-located burn units are accurate estimators of TBSA in the assessment of burn injuries. We believe that burn education, to include core rotations within the burn unit, plays a major role in improved burn size estimations.

Cholesterol embolization and arterial occlusion from the Heimlich maneuver.

The Heimlich maneuver is a lifesaving bystander intervention to assist an individual with airway obstruction however, cholesterol embolization syndrome is a rare, but serious potential complication of the Heimlich maneuver. We present the case of the 56-year-old female presenting to the emergency department with acute right foot pain following performance of the Heimlich maneuver who was found to have distal arterial occlusion resulting from cholesterol embolization syndrome. The patient underwent right popliteal artery exploration, right popliteal and tibial thrombectomy, and popliteal patch angioplasty resulting in restoration of blood flow to her right foot.

A Case Report on Rhabdomyolysis After Multiple Bee Stings.

Envenoming syndrome is an uncommon condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality following multiple Hymenoptera stings. We review the case of a 90-year-old male who presented after receiving greater than 100 bee stings and was found to have rhabdomyolysis with concomitant acute kidney injury. Physicians should consider envenoming syndrome in all patients presenting with greater than 50 bee stings, despite hemodynamically stability upon initial presentation.

Large Vessel Occlusion Stroke Secondary to Acute Aortic Dissection.

Aortic dissection carries a high mortality of up to 40% at the time of initial dissection and an additional 1% per hour the dissection is untreated. Patients with acute aortic dissection most commonly present with chest or back pain. Less frequently, it manifests without pain with predominant neurologic symptoms secondary to an acute stroke. We present the case of a 53-year-old male presenting with acute onset aphasia and right-sided weakness. Incidentally, CT angiography of his neck revealed a carotid artery dissection, which was found an extension of a Stanford type A acute aortic dissection resulting in a large vessel occlusion stroke. The patient's concomitant pathologies resulted in uncertainty as to the priority of management between the interventional neurology and cardiothoracic surgery services, ultimately resulting in the transfer of the patient to an aorta specialist at an outside facility. This case highlights several areas of difficulty in the management of patients with presenting with both large vessel occlusion stroke and acute aortic dissection and the need for consideration of acute aortic dissection in patients presenting with symptoms consistent with large vessel occlusion stroke. Optimal blood pressure control is unknown, as is the ideal timing of aortic repair and the potential for endovascular therapy for large vessel occlusion stroke in the setting of acute aortic dissection. Emergency physicians must rapidly engage with neurology, interventional neurology, and cardiothoracic surgery to determine appropriate interventions and timing of operative repair. The emergency physician must consider acute aortic dissection in patients presenting with signs and symptoms concerning for large vessel occlusion stroke, even if they have no complaint of chest pain, as administration of thrombolytics in these patients may be deadly.

Proton Pump Inhibitor-Induced Hypomagnesemia: A Rare, Potentially Fatal Complication.

Hypomagnesemia has been associated with a variety of abnormalities, including neurological, cardiac and secondary electrolyte abnormalities. We present the case of a 77-year-old male who presented to the emergency department with tremor and difficulty walking and was found to have severe hypomagnesemia necessitating hospital admission. After thorough workup, the patient's hospital course concluded that the profound hypomagnesemia was secondary to proton pump inhibitor use. Physicians should be aware of proton pump inhibitor-induced hypomagnesemia as a rare, but easily correctable etiology of hypomagnesemia.

Self-reported history of seizure and baseline neurocognitive test performance in student-athletes: an initial investigation.

OBJECTIVES: Baseline neurocognitive assessment data can be critical in return to play (RTP) decision-making following a sport-related concussion (SRC). The literature indicates that many modifying factors of SRC have been studied empirically; however, there has been little investigation into the effect of a self-reported history of seizure(s) on baseline neurocognitive test data. The objective of this investigation was to determine whether a self-reported history of seizure(s) is associated with differences in baseline Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) performance. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 18,245 adolescent and young adult athletes' ImPACT scores was performed. After application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 7,391 participants were dichotomized into groups based on the presence or absence of a self-reported history of seizure. Participants reporting a history of seizure (n = 60) were matched on multiple variables in a 1:3 ratio with controls (n = 180) without a history of self-reported seizure. Baseline ImPACT composite scores were then compared between groups using either a 2-tailed t-test or a Mann-Whitney U-Test. RESULTS: A significant between-group difference was observed in ImPACT visual motor speed composite scores (35.28 vs. 37.64, p = 0.029, Hedge's g = 0.327), with the group self-reporting a history of seizure performing at inferior average scores. No significant between-group differences were detected in verbal memory, visual memory, reaction time, impulse control, or total symptom scores. CONCLUSION: Athletes with a history of self-reported seizure scored significantly lower on ImPACT visual motor speed compared to matched controls. As a solitary finding with a small effect size, the clinical significance of this difference is unclear. Apart from the decrease in visual-motor speed, this preliminary analysis suggests that athletes with a history of seizure might not have significantly different neurocognitive baseline test scores when compared with matched controls. Further empirical investigation is warranted to determine if a history of seizure is a modifying factor for SRC.