Body stuffing during apprehension resulting in distal esophageal impaction: a case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Body stuffing and body packing are two methods of concealing illicit drugs. Body stuffing is defined as the oral ingestion of illicit drugs, typically to avoid law enforcement detection or other consequences of possession, and may present a serious medical emergency in patients. Most commonly, body stuffers ingest possibly large or unknown quantities of illicit substances to avoid detection of the drugs during apprehension. This ingestion is typically hasty or impulsive, and therefore the substances ingested are rarely packaged in a way that would be considered safe for ingestion. CASE PRESENTATION: This case highlights a series of rare complications of impacted esophageal foreign body including esophageal edema, pericarditis, and hydro-pneumothorax for a 16-year-old Hispanic male who was booked into a county juvenile detention and rehabilitation facility. He complained of persistent intractable epigastric pain, along with pleuritic chest pain with multiple episodes of vomiting over the previous 4 days. He denied swallowing any foreign body. He underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy, and a plastic bag with content suspicious for marijuana was discovered in the distal esophagus and removed. CONCLUSIONS: Failure to consider body stuffing and foreign body impaction in individuals during medical evaluation in detention centers with complaints of chest pain, abdominal pain, dysphagia, and/or certain toxidromes can delay diagnosis and lead to a variety of medical complications.

Variation in Trauma Team Response Fees in United States Trauma Centers: An Additional Undisclosed Variable Cost in Trauma Care.

BACKGROUND: The rising costs associated with trauma care in the United States is an important topic in today's healthcare environment. Factors such as innovations in technology, increasing governmental and organizational regulations, and the specialization of care have led to increasing costs to the patient. A component of trauma cost is the one-time trauma team response fee (TTRF). The determination process of the TTRF's dollar amount is elusive as no apparent standardized process exists and the literature is scant regarding this aspect of trauma care. METHODS: A nationwide cross-sectional convenience sample was conducted using SurveyMonkey. Surveys were sent to 525 trauma centers in the continental United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, between October 8, 2019 and March 11, 2020. Additionally, hospital medical directors and trauma medical directors were queried on their knowledge of their facility's TTRF amount. RESULTS: Only 46 out of 525 trauma centers, or 8.8% of those surveyed shared their scheduled fees. Comparisons of TTRFs among different trauma centers, activation levels, and geographical locations were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the true costs of trauma care and fees for patients in the United States remains elusive due to inadequate data and low response rates. Trauma centers struggle to maintain financial viability as regulatory agencies and the public push for transparency of TTRFs. Collaboration between trauma centers and regulatory agencies is needed to ensure a balance between providing quality trauma care with justified associated charges and financial sustainability.

Acute Inhalant-Induced Atrial Fibrillation With Severe Hypocalcemia: A Case Report and Review of the Pathophysiology.

The recreational use of inhalants is associated with various detrimental health effects ranging from inebriation to cardiac arrest. It also presents a challenging clinical problem as the diagnosis is made by the presentation and patient's history, which is often difficult to obtain in an intoxicated or obtunded individual. The incidence of inhalant use is relatively high. National surveys have reported that nearly 21.7 million Americans aged 12 and older have used inhaled substances at least once in their lives. There is no reversal agent or antidote for inhalants and supportive care is generally recommended. We present a case of a young patient presenting with acute inhalant toxicity accompanied by atrial fibrillation with a rapid ventricular response and severe hypocalcemia.

Emergent Management of Traumatic Posterior Sternoclavicular Joint Dislocation: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Sternoclavicular joint (SCJ) dislocation is a rare but serious orthopedic injury. Posterior dislocations are more concerning due to the SCJ's proximity to visceral structures such as the trachea, esophagus, subclavian vessels, and brachial plexus. Due to the potential long-term sequelae of missed diagnosis, clinical suspicion should be high when a patient presents with a compression-type injury to the shoulder girdle and pain or deformity to the SCJ.  Here we present a case of a 15-year-old soccer player who presented to the emergency department (ED) after a fall onto his right shoulder with additional compound injuries. A posterior SCJ dislocation diagnosis was suspected and confirmed after a computed tomography scan. A successful closed reduction was done in the ED after consultation with cardiothoracic and orthopedic surgery.  This case adds to the body of literature describing diagnosis and management of posterior SCJ dislocations.

Early diagnosis and critical management of wound botulism in the emergency department: a single center experience and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Clostridium botulinum remains a major threat to a select population of subcutaneous and intramuscular drug users. We conducted a retrospective study of patients who were diagnosed with wound botulism and their clinical presentations to the Emergency Department (ED). RESULTS: A total of 21 patients met the inclusion criteria and all had a confirmed history of heroin use disorder. Initial presentation to the ED included generalized weakness (n = 20, 95%), difficulty swallowing (n = 15, 71%), and speech/voice problems (n = 14, 79%). Sixteen patients (76%) also presented with visible skin wounds and fifteen (71%) required mechanical ventilation (MV). Patients who presented with dysphagia as well as dysarthria and/or dysphonia were more likely to require a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube. Patients who required MV and PEG tubes were noted to have a longer hospital length of stay (LOS) due to the severity of the disease progression. CONCLUSIONS: Emergency physicians should remain vigilant about early recognition of wound botulism, especially in patients who inject drugs.

Novel Bedside Utilization of Foley Catheter in the Emergent Removal of Colorectal Foreign Body: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Rectal foreign bodies (RFBs) present unique challenges to the emergency physician. Failure to emergently remove the RFB may lead to additional intraoperative procedures with increased likelihood of complications. We present a case of retained RFB in the emergency department, in which the usual standard approaches to transanal removal had failed. A last-ditch effort by utilizing a Foley catheter inside the object rather than around it led to the successful removal of the RFB. An intense review of the literature highlights the importance of using various novel applications of a Foley catheter to consider cases of RFBs.