Özlem Köksal

General characteristics of patients with electrolyte imbalance admitted to emergency department

BACKGROUND: Fluid and electrolyte balance is a key concept to understand for maintaining homeostasis, and for a successful treatment of many metabolic disorders. There are various regulating mechanisms for the equilibrium of electrolytes in organisms. Disorders of these mechanisms result in electrolyte imbalances that may be life-threatening clinical conditions. In this study we defined the electrolyte imbalance characteristics of patients admitted to our emergency department. METHODS: This study was conducted in the Emergency Department (ED) of Uludag University Faculty of Medicine, and included 996 patients over 18 years of age. All patients had electrolyte imbalance, with various etiologies other than traumatic origin. Demographic and clinical parameters were collected after obtaining informed consent from the patients. The ethical committee of the university approved this study. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 59.28±16.79, and 55% of the patients were male. The common symptoms of the patients were dyspnea (14.7%), fever (13.7%), and systemic deterioration (11.9%); but the most and least frequent electrolyte imbalances were hyponatremia and hypermagnesemia, respectively. Most frequent findings in physical examination were confusion (14%), edema (10%) and rales (9%); and most frequent pathological findings in ECG were tachycardia in 24%, and atrial fibrillation in 7% of the patients. Most frequent comorbidity was malignancy (39%). Most frequent diagnoses in the patients were sepsis (11%), pneumonia (9%), and acute renal failure (7%). CONCLUSIONS: Electrolyte imbalances are of particular importance in the treatment of ED patients. Therefore, ED physicians must be acknowledged of their fluid-electrolyte balance dynamics and general characteristics.

Is routine pregnancy test necessary in women of reproductive age admitted to the emergency department

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the necessity of pregnancy test in women of reproductive age admitted to emergency department (ED) in routine practice. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients who presented to the ED between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2010 and received a pregnancy test. RESULTS: The median age of 1 586 patients enrolled into the study was 27 years. Of these patients, 19.55% had a positive result of pregnancy test. The most common complaint at admission was abdominal pain in 60.15% of the patients, and pregnancy test was prescribed. 15.83% of the patients with abdominal pain had a positive result of pregnancy test. Of the patients, 30.64% had nausea-vomiting at admission, and 11.52% had a positive result of pregnancy test. When other complaints were considered, the most commonly observed complaints were non-specific symptoms such as dizziness, malaise and respiratory problems. Of the patients, 70.93% were not remembering the date of last menstruation, and 9.51% showed a positive result of pregnancy test. Urinary tract infection (UTI) was commonly diagnosed with an incidence of 17.65%, which was followed by non-specific abdominal pain (NSAP) (16.77%) and gastrointestinal disorders such as gastritis and peptic ulcer (6.87%). Of the patients, 88.40% were discharged from ED, and 11.60% were hospitalized. CONCLUSION: Pregnancy test should be given to women of reproductive age as a routine practice in ED in developing countries like Turkey.

The comparison of modified early warning score and Glasgow coma scale-age-systolic blood pressure scores in the assessment of nontraumatic critical patients in Emergency Department

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study is to assess and compare the discriminatory ability of the Glasgow coma scale (GCS)-age-systolic blood pressure (GAP) score and modified early warning scoring system (mEWS) score for 4-week mortality, for the patients being in the triage category 1 and 2 who refer to Emergency Department (ED). METHODS Five hundred and two nontraumatic cases being in the triage category 1 and 2 who were ≥18-year-old and who referred to ED were assessed prospectively. Reason of referral, fashion of referral, age, gender, vital signs, GCS/alert/verbal/painful/unresponsive scores, consultations, diagnoses, and treatments and final outcome (hospitalization, transfer, discharge, treatment rejection, and exitus) were recorded. The mEWS and GAP scores and the mortality ratios of the cases were calculated by observing both in ED and 4-week survivals of the patients. RESULTS When the mEWS and GAP scores were compared in the prediction of 4-week mortality, no statistically significant difference was found between them (P > 0.05). The power of mortality estimation was found significant for both scoring systems (for both; P< 0.001). CONCLUSION GAP score with a simple use being a score developed for the estimation of mortality of trauma patients seems to be usable also for the nontraumatic patients with triage category 1-2 in the ED.

Is there a relationship between the diameter of the inferior vena cava and hemodynamic parameters in critically ill patients

INTRODUCTION The early detection of critically ill patients together with the rapid initiation of effective treatment in emergency departments(ED) increase the survival rates. AIM This study investigated whether a correlation exists between haemodynamic parameters of critically ill patients and the diameter of the inferior vena cava (IVC). MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study was performed included patients aged ≥18 years with an unstable haemodynamic and/or respiratory status who were referred to the ED for non-traumatic issues. IVC diameters were measured by ultrasound (US) and then central venous pressures (CVP) were measured. Anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) diameters of the IVC, both in the inspirium (IAP, IML) and expirium (EAP, EML), were measured by US. RESULTS 102 patients were evaluated with a median age of 59. The relationship between the diameters of IVC and CVP was evaluated and significant correlation was found in IAP, EAP according to CVP values (p<0.001). ROC analyses were performed and significant relationship was found between the EAP diameter with haemoglobin (Hmg), haemotocrit (Hct), and central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) and also significant correlation was detected between the IAP diameter and white blood cell (WBC). DISCUSSION We detected significant correlation between the CVP and the IVC diameter in our study compatible with recent studies besides, significant correlation was found between the diameter of the IVC and CVP values as well as between the EAP diameter and Hmg, Hct, ScvO2 levels. CONCLUSION Measurement of IVC diameters, especially EAP may be useful at the monitoring of critically ill patients in ED.

Cathecol-O-methyl transferase Val158Met genotype is not a risk factor for conversion disorder.

Alterations in catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) activity are involved in various types of neurological disorders. We examined a possible association between the COMT Val158Met polymorphism and conversion disorder in a study of 48 patients with conversion disorder and 48 control patients. In the conversion disorder group, 31 patients were Val/Met heterozygotes, 15 patients were Val/Val homozygotes and 2 patients were Met/Met homozygotes. In the control group, 32 patients were Val/Met heterozygotes and 16 patients were Val/Val homozygotes. There was no significant difference between the groups. We conclude that the COMT Val158Met genotype is quite common in Turkey and that it is not a risk factor for conversion disorder in the Turkish population.

The value of bedside ocular ultrasound assessment of optic nerve sheath diameter in the detection of increased intracranial pressure in patients presenting to the emergency room with headache

Introduction: Headache is one of the most important complaints in emergency room (ER) admissions, and the rate of the increase in intracranial pressure in these cases should not be overlooked. This study was performed to investigate the value of the measurement of optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) by ocular ultrasound in ER patients with the complaint of headache and increase in intracranial pressure regarding this. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 patients who applied to the ER with the complaint of headache were included in this prospective study. Fifty patients with increased ONSD (≥5 mm) and 50 patients with normal ONSD (<5 mm) were obtained. ONSD measurements were performed with 7.5–10 MHz linear probe and closed-eye technique. In addition to this, all patients underwent cranial computerized tomography (CT) examinations, and CT results were compared with the results of the ocular ultrasound. Results: The median right and left ONSD values were detected to be 4.3 mm (3.6–5.5 mm) and 4.4 mm (3.6–5.6 mm) in patients whose cranial CT results were within normal limits. However, the median right and left ONSD values were detected to be 5.5 mm (5.1–6.3 mm) and 5.5 mm (5.1–6.4 mm) in patients whose cranial CT examination results were abnormal. In all cases with abnormal CT findings, the right and the left ONSD measurements were significantly higher (P < 0.001). Furthermore, ONSD value in the ipsilateral side with the lesion was significantly higher than the contralateral side (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Bedside ocular ultrasound is a noninvasive and easily applicable method in ER for the detection and evaluation of intracranial hypertension with headache.