ABSTRACT
The case of a 26-year-old woman who was 23 weeks pregnant is described; the patient presented, on a weekend, to the emergency department (ED) with left groin pain. There were few clinical signs of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) but ED ultrasound (US) showed a left external iliac vein thrombus. This is a new technique in the ED. Not only does this case show the importance of using this technique in the ED, but it also shows the importance of correct training in how to examine for thrombus in the external iliac vein in the pregnant patient. The patient was admitted to the hospital and started on low-molecular-weight heparin. A formal radiology department US performed the next week confirmed the diagnosis of DVT.
Subject(s)
Iliac Vein/diagnostic imaging , Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular/diagnostic imaging , Venous Thrombosis/diagnostic imaging , Adult , Early Diagnosis , Emergency Service, Hospital , Female , Fibrinolytic Agents/therapeutic use , Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight/therapeutic use , Humans , Pregnancy , Ultrasonography , Venous Thrombosis/drug therapyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the outcome of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock who did and did not receive early goal-directed therapy (EGDT) in the emergency department (ED). The primary end point was the in-hospital mortality rate. The secondary end points were lengths of stay in the ICU and in hospital. METHOD: Patients with sepsis who satisfied two of the four systemic inflammatory response criteria and who either had a lactate of greater than 4 mmol/l or a systolic blood pressure of less than 90 mmHg after 20-30 ml/kg of fluid, were included. Patients who had EGDT commenced, and all patients who were admitted to ICU who met EGDT criteria over a 4-year period from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2009, were studied. RESULTS: One hundred and seventy-four patients with sepsis met the criteria for EGDT. Ninety-seven patients had EGDT commenced in the ED. The mortality rate in the EGDT group was 22.7% compared with 42.9% in the non-EGDT group (P=0.004). The length of stay in ICU was [(median and interquartile range)] 3D(5) versus 4D(8), P value less than 0.0001. There was no difference in the length of in-hospital stay. CONCLUSION: Initiating EGDT in the ED in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock was associated with a significant reduction in in-hospital mortality and length of stay in ICU.
