My Emergency Medicine Blog

According to Kuppermann et al's recent study published in the Lancet, YES because of severe injury mechanism.

In abbreviated form:

For those metric challenged, 1.5 m = 4.92 ft and 0.9 m = 2.95 ft.


Source

Kupperman et al. "Identification of children at very low risk of clinically-important brain injuries after head trauma: a prospective cohort study" Lancet. Oct 2009.

Image source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/711739

Patients with presumed central retinal artery occlusion necessitate emergent ophthalmologic and medical consultation (to evaluate for embolic source). This most often - but not always - is achieved best by admission to the hospital.


Source

Marx: Rosen's Emergency Medicine, 7th ed.

This is rare, but here's how hematuria can occur ...

AAA ruptures into the inferior vena cava or one of the iliac veins producing an aortocaval or aortoiliac fistula. This causes hematuria secondary to intravesicular venous hypertension. Patients with this type of fistula may also present with lower extremity edema, high-output congestive heart failure, and a continuous abdominal bruit.


Source

Townsend: Sabiston Textbook of Surgery, 18th ed.

• 10 to 20 meq/h
• but can increase to as high as 40 to 100 meq/h for those with paralysis or life-threatening arrhythmias
  

Of note, potassium concentrations > 60 meq/L should be administered through a central line given the pain that can be caused when given through a peripheral vein.


Source

Rose, B. MD. "Clinical manifestations and treatment of hypokalemia" Up to Date. 24 Jan 2009.

• unable to tolerate PO
• severe symptoms of hypokalemia (severe muscle weakness, cardiac arrhythmias / ECG abnormalities, rhabdomyolysis) which generally occur at a potassium less than 2.5 meq/L
  

Source

Rose, B. MD. "Clinical manifestations and treatment of hypokalemia" Up to Date. 24 Jan 2009.

1. image quality is inversely correlated to heart rate, requiring premedication with beta-blockers which some patients will not tolerate.
2. arrhythmias, ectomy, or ECG artifacts will result in degradation of image quality
   
3. extensive coronary calcification (patients with high likelihood of significant coronary calcification ie elderly, preexisting CAD) obscures the coronary artery lumen and may substantially limit analysis
4. obesity increases radiation scatter
   
5. radiation exposure is significant, 12 mSv
6. delineates anatomy only and can therefore only infer the impact of any given luminal narrowing
   

Source

Chinnaiyan, K. et al. "Cardiac CT in the Emergency Department" Cardiol Clin. 2009.

http://www.essentialslive.com/essentials-stream-2/

Thanks to Michelle Lin at Academic Life in Emergency Medicine for turning me on to this.