Abstracts in Urgent Care – February 2009

Assumptions About Uninsured Patients in U.S. EDs: More Fiction Than Fact Key point: Commonly held beliefs were either debunked or found to be equally true for insured patients. Citation: Newton MF, Keims CC, Cunningham R, et al. Uninsured adults presenting to U.S. emergency departments: Assumptions vs, data. JAMA. 2008; 30: 1914-1924. Recent physician testimony before Congress asserts that uninsured and underinsured patients unnecessarily drain emergency department medical resources. To evaluate the evidence for this and …

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Clinical Challenge: December, 2008

The patient is a 55-year-old female who experienced a blow to the back when she fell while riding a bus. She complains of pain in her neck, shoulder, and back. On examination, you find that her vitals are stable and she has no significant past medical history. View the x-ray taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page. (Hint: this …

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Clinical Challenge: November, 2008

The patient is a 23-year-old male who presents with a complaint of pain in the heel area after slipping down four steps. He is limping but able to bear weight. On exam, you note local tenderness and swelling over the area of the Achilles tendon. Other findings are unremarkable. View the x-ray taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.

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Clinical Challenge: October, 2008

The patient is an 82-year- old man who slipped on the street, experiencing a blow to his right shoulder. He has significant local swelling in the injured shoulder specifically, over the acromioclavicular joint as well as significantly limited range of motion. His distal pulses are normal. View the x-ray taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.

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