Skip to main content
eScholarship
Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (3 results)

  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health, Volume 17, Issue 4 (2016)
An elderly woman with a chronic decubitus sacral ulcer presented to the emergency department with sepsis. A computed tomography of her abdomen showed diffuse gas extending throughout the thoracolumbar spinal canal. Pneumorrhachis is a rare radiographic finding defined as gas within the spinal canal. There are many causes of pneumorrhachis ranging from trauma to infection. In this case the pneumorrhachis was caused by direct spread of gas-forming organisms from vertebral osteomyelitis. Emergency physicians should know about the implication of gas in the spinal canal in the setting of sepsis.
    Cover page: Pneumorrhachis Secondary From Sacral Decubitus UlcerCreative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
    • Article
    Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health, Volume 23, Issue 1.1 (2022)
      Cover page: 3D-printed Larynx is A Cost Effective Substitute for Traditional Simulation Models to Teach EM Residents CricothyrotomyCreative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine, Volume 4, Issue 4 (2020)

      Introduction: Bowel obstruction is a rare but well reported complication of blunt abdominal trauma (BAT). Obstruction is most often seen acutely caused by bowel wall hematomas and chronically as a result of post-traumatic strictures. Here, we present a novel case of BAT causing a subacute obstructing bowel wall hematoma.

      Case Report: A healthy, 32-year-old male presented to our emergency department with three days of nausea and vomiting. Chart review revealed he had been seen two weeks prior after a high-speed motor vehicle collision. During that initial visit, the patient had a benign abdominal exam and was discharged without imaging. On this return visit, the patient was found to have a large, obstructing colonic hematoma.

      Conclusion: Because emergency physicians care for patients in both the acute and subacute phases of trauma, clinicians should recognize the more subtle sequelae of BAT.

        Cover page: Case Report: Delayed Presentation of Bowel Obstruction Caused by Blunt Abdominal TraumaCreative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
        Top