Impact of a routine neurosurgical dispatch on emergency air medical transport and outcome of patients with intracranial hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Emergency air medical transport (EAMT) of patients in remote areas with neurological emergencies to higher-level facilities is an integral part of the regionalized healthcare system. EAMT is safe and feasible for head injuries. Debates persist on the high cost, safety, and risk of EAMT, thereby calling for alternatives. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study by including all patients with intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) who visited the Kinmen Hospital from January 2006 to December 2016. Routine neurosurgical dispatch (RNSD) implemented since 2009, dispatches neurosurgeons to Kinmen. EAMT and 90-day mortality were assessed. RESULTS: We enrolled 560 patients: 173 pre-stage and 387 post-stage. RNSD resulted in less EAMT deployment ([adjusted odds ratio AOR] = 0·23, p < 0·001) and lower 90-day mortality ([adjusted hazard ratio AHR] 0·66, p = 0·043). RNSD resulted in decreased EAMT among all subgroups, especially in age ≥81 years (AOR 0.03, p < 0.001), age 41-60 years (AOR 0.10, p < 0.001), traumatic intracranial hemorrhage (TICH) (AOR 0·11, p < 0·001), and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) 9-12 (AOR 0.14, p 0.001). The risk of 90-day mortality was higher in male (AHR 1.81, p = 0·006), GCS 3-8 (AHR 35.52, p < 0·001) and GCS 9-12 (AHR 7.46, p < 0·01) and lower in age 21-40 years (AHR 0.46, p = 0.034). CONCLUSION: Incorporating RNSD with EAMT is a plausible alternative to EAMT with a significant decrease in EAMT and decreased 90-day mortality in patients with ICH compared with non-neurosurgical care with EAMT. Despite a 34% decrease in 90-day mortality after RNSD, patient characteristics such as disease severity, age, and sex still dictated patient outcomes.

Spontaneous Intramural Intestinal Hemorrhage versus Acute Mesenteric Ischemia by CT Evaluation.

Objective The purpose of our study was to differentiate the imaging findings of patients with spontaneous intramural intestinal hemorrhage (SIIH) from those with acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) after abdominal computed tomography (CT) survey in the emergency department. Methods We retrospectively included 83 patients diagnosed with SIIH or AMI after abdominal CT. Results The mean ages of 30 SIIH patients and 53 AMI patients were 74.4±14.6 years and 75.8±11.2 years, respectively. Patients with SIIH had significantly thicker maximal intestinal wall thickening (14.8±3.9 vs. 10.9 ±4.1, p<0.001), a lower rate of ileum involvement (26.7% vs. 77.4%, p<0.001) and a higher rate of ascites (96.7% vs. 64.2%, p<0.001) compared with patients with AMI. Neither pneumatosis intestinalis (p<0.001) nor portomesenteric gas (p<0.01) were detected in SIIH patients but were observed in AMI patients. A receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the optimal cut-off value for maximal intestinal wall thickening between groups was 10.4 mm and the area under the ROC curve between groups was 0.752 (p<0.0001). A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the independent predictors of SIIH were non-involvement of the ileum (odds ratio, OR, 6.998; p=0.001), maximal intestinal wall thickening ≥10.4 mm (OR, 5.748; p=0.040) and ascites (OR, 13.348; p=0.023). The area under the ROC curve for the model was 0.854 (p<0.001). Conclusion The independent predictors of SIIH from AMI after abdominal CT in acute abdominal patients include non-involvement of the ileum, intestinal wall thickening ≥10.4 mm, and ascites.

An unusual case of silent acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction following amphetamine use.

We report a case of silent acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction associated with amphetamine use in a 62 years old diabetic man. The patient was devoid of chest pain and had a normal cardiac enzyme analysis at the initial presentation. A routine electrocardiogram demonstrated acute inferior wall ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Coronary angiography confirmed a total occlusion of the posterior lateral branch of right coronary artery. The patient underwent successful percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty with stent placement. Amphetamine abuse may play a role in acute myocardial infarction. Adverse cardiovascular manifestations of amphetamine can occur with sudden overt chest pain or present insidiously. In view of the potential association of amphetamine and myocardial infarction, physicians should not rely only upon clinical symptoms. This report highlights the diabetic patients with amphetamine abuse should undergo a routine electrocardiogram in such circumstances.