Patients who are affected with severe chronic illness or in need for end-of-life care ((EOLC), they are mainly treated in the emergency departments (EDs) to provide the utmost amount of care for their condition. The major aspects which impact the accessibility of care in the ED include the clinical, social, and economic factors in different regions of countries. In recent years as the EOLC has been provided, it has been observed that patients experiencing EOL and dealing with a dying process do not always achieve the experience what resonates with a good death. The main cause of concern for these patients is the problem that in the ED they do not have access to palliative care options, mainly the ones who are suffering from noncancer ailments. These patients are provided palliative care at a very later stage in the ED when they could have been provided with palliative management at home in an earlier manner. EOLC plays a very critical role in ensuring that terminally ill patients are given a proper and adequate amount of care. The present article aims to highlight the EOLC in the ED in the Middle-Eastern regions. We aim to present a broader view that has impacted the current situation of EOLC in the Middle East regions and demonstrate a description of the EOLC in an ED setting between the Middle Eastern regions and western culture focusing on the following five important factors: Situation acceptance in the ED, cultural compatibility of bioethics, treatment perspective, skills among clinical providers and physician's attitude. In this literature review, we present the evidence associated with the EOLC in the ED setting with respect to the Middle East countries and bring out their differences in the religious, clinical, social, ethical, and economic aspects in comparison with the Western countries. We also tried to determine the differences between the two regions in terms of the principle of explaining the fatal diagnosis or poor prognosis, family relations, and do-not-resuscitate decision. This comparative analysis will help to bring out the gaps in the quality of care in the ED in the Middle East countries and promote the development of well-assessed policies and strategies to improve EOLC. The findings of this study and the future interventions that can be implemented to improve the structure and design of the EOLC that will act as a guiding force to execute evidence-based quality improvement program.

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OBJECTIVES: The primary aim was to define factors related to the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) after in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA), and the secondary aim was to determine factors related to 28-day mortality in patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) after ROSC. METHODS: In this retrospective study, we included the patients who suffered from IHCA in a tertiary hospital between July 2016 and April 2019. Pre- and post-resuscitation characteristics of the patients and event characteristics were defined to reveal the independent factors associated with ROSC and 28-day survival. RESULTS: A total of 254 patients (median age 73 years, 58.3% males) underwent cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The ROSC rate was 45.7%. Of all, 51 patients (median age, 63 years, 54.9% males) were admitted to in-hospital ICUs. The 28-day survival rate was 31.4%. The independent risk factors were chronic kidney disease (odds ratio [OR], 3.18, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.37–7.19, P = 0.007), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR, 2.84, 95% CI, 1.23–6.61, P = 0.015), asystole as an initial rhythm (OR, 2.94, 95% CI, 1.27–6.79, P = 0.012), multi-trauma-related complications (OR, 21.11, 95% CI, 4.71–94.69, P < 0.001), and septic shock (OR, 4.10; 95% CI, 1.16–14.54, P = 0.029) for ROSC; and a cerebral performance category score >2 (OR, 20.86, 95% CI, 2.74–158.65, P = 0.003), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score >14 (OR, 7.58, 95% CI, 1.06–54.23, P = 0.044) for 28-day mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Independent risk factors related to ROSC and 28-day mortality were defined in the study. However, further studies are needed to devise new strategies for increased hospital discharge with preserved neurologic functions.

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OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of intravenous (IV) morphine plus ibuprofen or ketorolac versus IV morphine alone in controlling renal colic pain in the emergency department. METHODS: This double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted during November 2018 and March 2019 in Iran. Patients aged 18–65 years with acute renal colic and numerical rating scale (NRS) score of higher than 6 of 10 were enrolled to the study. They were randomly assigned to I, K, and control groups receiving 5 mg morphine with 800 mg ibuprofen (n = 65), 5 mg morphine with 30 mg ketorolac (n = 65), or only 5 mg morphine (n = 65) intravenously, respectively. NRS was evaluated 0, 15, 30, 60, and 120 min after injection. RESULTS: A total of 195 participants took part in the study. The presence of stone in pelvis area was higher in I group (P = 0.027). The mean rescue analgesic dose was higher in the control group and lower in K group (P = 0.031). From the 15^th min, the NRS reduction in I and K group was higher than the control group (P < 0.001), but the difference between I and K group was not statistically significant in total (P = 1.0) or in the all follow-up time intervals (15^th P = 0.864, 30^th P = 0.493, 60^th P = 0.493, and 120^th min P = 1.0). The largest difference in pain reduction was observed in 120^th min and mean of NRS was 2.9 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.6–3.3), 2.9 (95% CI: 2.6–3.3) and 7.0 (95% CI: 6.7–7.4) in I, K and control group, respectively. The adverse effects showed in 18.5%, 20.0%, and 13.8% of I, K, and control group, respectively. CONCLUSION: IV ibuprofen plus morphine and IV ketorolac plus morphine had similar effects in reducing renal colic pain but were more effective than IV morphine alone.

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OBJECTIVES: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children has become the major cause of mortality and morbidity in Thailand that has had an impact with economic consequences. This study aimed to develop and internally validate a nomogram for a 6-month follow-up outcome prediction in moderate or severe pediatric TBI. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study involved 104 children with moderate or severe TBI. Various clinical variables were reviewed. The functional outcome was assessed at the hospital discharge and at a 6-month follow-up based on the King's Outcome Scale for Childhood Head Injury classification. Predictors associated with the 6-month follow-up outcome were developed from the predictive model using multivariable binary logistic regression to estimate the performance and internal validation. A nomogram was developed and presented as a predictive model. RESULTS: The mean age of the samples was 99.75 months (standard deviation 59.65). Road traffic accidents were the highest injury mechanism at 84.6%. The predictive model comprised Glasgow Coma Scale of 3–8 (odds ratio [OR]: 16.07; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.27–202.42), pupillary response in one eye (OR 7.74; 95% CI 1.26–47.29), pupillary nonresponse in both eyes (OR: 57.74; 95% CI: 2.28–145.81), hypotension (OR: 19.54; 95%: CI 3.23–117.96), and subarachnoid hemorrhage (OR: 9.01, 95% CI: 1.33–60.80). The concordance statistic index (C-index) of the model's discrimination was 0.931, while the C-index following the bootstrapping and 5-cross validation were 0.920 and 0.924, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The performance of a clinical nomogram for predicting 6-month follow-up outcomes in pediatric TBI patients was assessed at an excellent level. However, further external validation would be required for the confirmation of the tool's performance.

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OBJECTIVES: The objectives were to study the effect of aggressive resuscitation using normal saline on hemodynamics, serum atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), syndecan-1 (marker of endothelial glycocalyx shedding), and extravascular lung water index (ELWI) following hemorrhagic shock. METHODS: Eleven male piglets (Sus scrofa) underwent blood drawing to create 20% drop in mean arterial pressure (MAP). Two-phase resuscitation was performed: Phase 1 using normal saline of an equal volume of blood drawn to create shock and Phase 2 using 40 ml/kg BW of normal saline to simulate hypervolemia and hemodilution. Heart rate, MAP, cardiac index (CI), systemic vascular resistance index, oxygen delivery (DO₂), global end-diastolic volume index, ELWI, hemoglobin (Hb), lactate, ANP, and syndecan-1 at each phase and up to 60 min following Phase 2 resuscitation were recorded. RESULTS: Phase 2 resuscitation significantly decreased Hb concentration (P = 0.006), however, DO₂ was maintained (P = 1.000). CI increased from shock to Phase 1 (P = 0.029) and further increase in Phase 2 resuscitation (P = 0.001). Overall, there was a transient increase of ANP following Phase 1 resuscitation, from 85.20 ± 40.86 ng/L at baseline to 106.42 ± 33.71 ng/L (P = 0.260). Serum syndecan-1 and ELWI change at all phases were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate compensatory protective mechanism despite overzealous fluid resuscitation. Compensatory increased CI despite decreased Hb maintained DO₂. In the absence of inflammation, serum ANP did not increase significantly, no glycocalyx shedding occurred, subsequently no change in ELWI. We show that factors other than volume overload are more dominant in causing glycocalyx shedding.

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OBJECTIVES: In this article, the results of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases followed with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support in a 3-month period in the third wave when there were an increased number of cases of young patients in our intensive care unit (ICU) were presented. METHODS: The study was carried out with all COVID-19 patients who were given ECMO support in our tertiary referral hospital ICU after obtaining the consent of the Ministry of Health Scientific Research Platform and after the approval of the local ethics committee. Patient data were obtained retrospectively from intensive care bedside follow-up charts and computer records. The demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were presented in average, median, and percentages. The data of the patients were evaluated and compared with the current literature. RESULTS: ECMO treatment was applied in seven patients who were followed up with severe COVID-19 pneumonia in the last 3 months. Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) was applied to all patients. Five (71.5%) of seven patients were weaned from ECMO. Four (57.2%) of seven patients were discharged from the ICU and hospital in good health. While two of the patients had a cesarean section (C/S) before ECMO, one patient underwent C/S under ECMO. All three newborns were delivered via C/S and all were premature (C/S dates were 35 weeks, 32 weeks, and 27 weeks), and all were discharged from the hospital in good health. CONCLUSION: Our experience shows that ECMO in COVID-19 patients is a lifesaving treatment option that can be successfully applied in severe acute respiratory distress syndrome cases who do not respond to conventional treatments.

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Scrub typhus (ST) has wide organ system involvement, but cardiac involvement is paramount in this spectrum due to early hemodynamic compromise. Various forms of cardiac involvement have been described in the literature, but we are describing rare electrocardiographic changes in the ST infection. A young male presented in our emergency department with complaints of restlessness and vomiting of 2 days' duration. The patient was having stable vitals on presentation, but his electrocardiogram (ECG) demonstrated second-degree atrioventricular block type 1 (also known Mobitz 1) and Osborn wave in the precordial leads. Further, he was having thrombocytopenia and eventually diagnosed with ST. For this, appropriate antibiotic treatment was given, which led to considerable symptomatic improvement and reversal of the ECG changes.

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Pain due to rib fracture leads to respiratory impairment and bilateral fractures impact respiratory mechanics in the worst manner. Thoracic epidural analgesia is the gold standard for bilateral rib fractures but is technically difficult, entails potentially serious complications, and necessitates patient repositioning. Ultrasound-guided serratus anterior plane block (SAPB) has recently gained favor for alleviating thoracic pain and can be performed in patients lying supine, rendering it particularly useful in polytrauma patients who are unable to sit up or turn lateral for regional blocks on the back. Use of continuous bilateral SAPB for rib fractures has been underutilized. We report a case of a polytrauma patient who had bilateral multiple rib fracture along with vertebral and pelvic fractures due to which she was in severe pain and was unable to move to provide any kind of positioning for the blocks. Bilateral SAPB provided effective pain relief and facilitated early recovery and pulmonary rehabilitation of the patient.

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Since December 2019, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has become an important public health problem and one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. COVID-19 is highly associated with thromboembolic events, like deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism (PE). Catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) provides effective reperfusion for the treatment of PE. We report a patient who was presented with intermediate-risk PE and had a saccular aneurysm of the anterior cerebral artery. The patient was suffered from recent COVID-19 infection and ischemic stroke. As the patient had high bleeding risk for full-dose systemic thrombolytic therapy, CDT was the preferred method for reperfusion. Finally, the patient was discharged from the hospital uneventfully 4 days later. In the setting of high bleeding risk, CDT seems to be an effective and safe approach in patients with intermediate-risk PE.

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Malfunctions of implantable cardiac devices have the potential to be catastrophic. A 63-year-old patient was admitted to our emergency department with new-onset abdominal pain and sensation of twitching on his abdominal wall. One month ago, an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) was implanted in him to prevent malignant ventricular arrhythmias. An electrocardiogram was obtained that showed pace spikes unrelated to QRS complexes. The patient was diagnosed with ICD lead dislodgement and the lead was repositioned in another procedure. In conclusion, emergency physicians should be familiar with the problems of implantable cardiac devices.

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