Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication of renal cell carcinoma or its treatment. It is unclear whether AKI, compared to inpatients with similar clinical and hospital-level characteristics without AKI, is associated with worse clinical outcomes and higher costs. To address this void, our study aimed to evaluate how an AKI diagnosis affects […]

Background: There are several scoring models used for risk stratification of patients presenting with chest pain. The HEART score is a tool recently developed in a European cohort of patients. It combines 5 elements: history, EKG, age, risk factors, and troponin. We aimed to compare its predictive value with that of TIMI and GRACE scores […]

Background: Rhabdomyolysis is a condition of rapid muscle breakdown resulting in myalgia, enzyme elevations, electrolyte imbalance. Released heme pigment may lead to tubular obstruction, vasoconstriction, and tubular epithelial cell injury, causing acute kidney injury (AKI) as a severe complication. Especially with predisposing conditions such as volume depletion. Early and aggressive fluid resuscitation is an essential […]

Background: An estimated 1 in 5 HIV‐positive Americans is unaware of their HIV status. Experts warn that this subgroup notably contributes in propagating the U.S. HIV epidemic. Universal opt‐out screening may mitigate this problem but remains haphazardly implemented. Inpatient‐based programs are a potential pathway toward efficient HIV screening. However, supportive studies are sparse and focus […]

Background: Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) pose a unique problem because prognosis is difficult to predict; therefore, treatment decisions are complex with uncertain outcomes. According to the American College of Surgeons 2018 Trauma Quality Improvement Project (TQIP), identified patients should receive a palliative care assessment within 24 hours, a family conversation should be held within 72 […]

Case Presentation: A 28‐year‐old woman presented with 3 days of fevers. She also noted headache and dyspnea on exertion. She denied cough, chest pain, vision changes, or neurologic deficits. She had grade III oligoastrocytoma status post resection, adjuvant radiation therapy, and induction chemotherapy with temozolomide. She was taking dexamethasone for cerebral edema prophylaxis. Vital signs […]

Case Presentation: This is an 8‐year‐old female with Marfan's syndrome and mitral valve prolapse who had been experiencing daily fevers for 1 week prior to presentation. On the day of admission she had a sudden headache with subsequent depressed neurologic status. She was seen in a regional emergency department where a rapid influenza test was […]

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in adult hospitalized patients, with the incidence being reported as high as 7.2%. While evaluation of the cause of AKI is often necessary, in hospitalized patients the causes of AKI are more likely to be pre-renal or intrinsic. Previous studies have found that decreased renal perfusion, medications, radiographic […]

Case Presentation: A 37-year-old male auto-mechanic, with a history of tobacco use, presented with acute right-sided pleuritic chest pain. He was diagnosed with musculoskeletal pain and discharged from the ED. Several days later he returned with dyspnea, dry cough, fever and diaphoresis. He revealed that he recently tried vaping marijuana (THC) oil. Vital signs were […]

Case Presentation: This is a 20 year old woman who was 20 weeks pregnant and had am OHCA . She was resuscitated and had return of spontaneous circulation although with a Glasgow coma Scale of 3 upon arrival to the emergency department. After adequate discussion with the family explaining the risks and benefits of therapeutic […]