Detection of Central Retinal Artery Occlusion by Point-of-Care Ultrasound in the Emergency Department: A Case Series.

Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is a rare, but serious, diagnosis that can lead to blindness, most often due to thromboembolic disease. In the emergency department (ED), CRAO can present as acute, painless loss of vision. Physicians need quick ways to rule in this diagnosis due to the time-sensitive nature of the event. We describe two patients in this cases series who present to the same ED with unilateral painless vision loss and histories that include notable risk factors such as thromboembolic and atherosclerotic disease. Upon arrival, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) done at the bedside allowed for quick determination of CRAO. â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹The importance of this case series is to emphasize the efficacy of POCUS in evaluating patients with painless vision loss in the ED setting.

Physician-directed smoking cessation using patient "opt-out" approach in the emergency department: A pilot program.

OBJECTIVE: Using a physician-directed, patient "opt-out" approach to prescriptive smoking cessation in the emergency department (ED) setting, we set out to describe patient actions as they related to smoking cessation behaviors. METHODS: A convenience sample of smokers at 2 Pennsylvania hospital EDs who met inclusion/exclusion criteria were approached to participate in a brief intervention known as screening, treatment initiation, and referral (STIR) counseling that included phone follow-up. Demographic information, current smoking status, and specific physician prescription and follow-up recommendations were collected. Approximately 3 months later, patients were contacted to determine current smoking status and actions taken since their ED visit. RESULTS: One hundred six patients were approached and 7 (6.6%) opted out of the intervention. Patients who did not opt out were evaluated for appropriate use of smoking cessation-related medications; 35 (35.4%) opted out of the prescription(s) and 6 (6.1%) were not indicated. Twenty-one (21.2%) patients opted out of ambulatory referral follow-ups with primary care and/or tobacco treatment program; one (1.0%) was not indicated for referral. Nineteen (32.8%) patients who received prescription(s) for smoking cessation-related medications initially also followed the prescription(s). Seventeen (22.1%) patients participated in referral follow-up. CONCLUSION: In this small ED pilot, using the STIR concepts in an opt-out method, few smokers opted out of the smoking cessation intervention. About one-third of the patients declined prescriptions for smoking cessation-related medications and less than one-quarter declined ambulatory referrals for follow-up. These findings support a willingness of patients to participate in STIR and the benefits of intervention in this setting.