Article Categories: Oct 2016

Case File: Rapid Diagnosis of Pericardial Effusion

by Jeffrey Wilkinson, MD and Amer M. Johri, MD –

Mr. DB was a 95 year old man who presented to the emergency department with dyspnea progressing over the last 3 months. Chest x-ray demonstrated an enlarged cardiac silhouette. He had a past medical history significant for coronary artery disease, hypertension and a lobectomy due to tuberculosis. A point of care cardiac ultrasound was conducted by an internal medicine resident as part of his physical examination in the emergency department. A large pericardial effusion was found. There were no clinical signs of tamponade.

Case Report: FAST Ultrasound Interpretation in Trauma Resuscitation

by Stuart Douglas, MD; Joseph Newbigging, MD; David Robertson, MD –

FAST Background: Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) is an integral adjunct to primary survey in trauma patients (1-4) and is incorporated into Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) algorithms (4). A collection of four discrete ultrasound probe examinations (pericardial sac, hepatorenal fossa (Morison’s pouch), splenorenal fossa, and pelvis/pouch of Douglas), it has been shown to be highly sensitive for detection of as little as 100cm3 of intraabdominal fluid (4,5), with a sensitivity quoted between 60-98%, specificity of 84-98%, and negative predictive value of 97-99% (3).

Case Report: Incarcerated femoral hernia containing ovary, unusual presentation of uncommon groin hernia

by Priyank Gupta, MD, FRCR; Hadiel Kaiyasah, MRCS Glasgow; Mahra AlSuwaidi, MRCS Glasgow –

Of all groin hernias, femoral hernias account for around 2–8%. They occur four to five times more commonly in females than males and have a peak incidence in those between 30 and 60 years old [1,2]. In adult population, femoral hernias are more commonly found in patients with previous inguinal hernia repair [3].