Mandible, or TMJ, dislocations occur when the patient excessively opens the mouth, such as in a yawn. They are typically bilateral and are difficult to relocate because of masseter and medial pterygoid muscle spasm. You can relocate the condyles back into the TMJ space with gentle but firm intraoral pressure inferiorly and posteriorly. Often it requires some sedation to help relax the muscles of mastication.
The most common cause of stridor in pediatric patients is croup, or laryngotracheobronchitis. The distinct high-pitched, seal-like,”barky” cough can be heard from outside the patient’s room often.
Check out the clip above that I randomly found on YouTube. Go to the 1:15 mark (near the end) to hear the barking cough. Poor but cute kid.
What is the current treatment regimen? Did you know that the traditional treatment with cool mist or humidified air have shown to be of no added benefit?
Go to the ALiEM Cards site for more resources.
Have you heard of the Modified Centor Score for strep pharyngitis? Interestingly, it has been validated in adults and children. The methodology builds on the traditional Centor Score by incorporating the patient’s age, because this disease is more prevalent in kids than adults. In fact, you actually lose a scoring point if you are older than 44 years old.
Patients often present to the Emergency Department for mandibular blunt trauma. Usually these patients have soft tissue swelling at the point of impact. In mandibular body fractures, the fracture line often extends to the alevolar ridge. This may cause a gap between a pair of lower teeth.
In patients with jaw pain, mild swelling, and normal dentition, is there a way to avoid imaging these patients to rule-out a mandible fracture?
Back in September of 2009 Michelle shared valuable Tricks of The Trade regarding drainage of peritonsillar abscesses. Today we revisit the topic and add two more tricks to avoid hitting “big red” a.k.a. the internal carotid artery.
Recently, a patient presented with angioedema after starting taking an ACE-inhibitor. There was upper lip swelling, similar appearing to the case above. He also experience a hoarse voice. Before the advent of fiberoptic nasopharyngoscopy, it was assumed that there may be laryngeal edema. Fortunately, using technology, we were able to visualize a normal epiglottis and a grossly normal laryngeal anatomy.
A 6-year old boy has placed a hard bead in his ear and presents to the ED for care. How do you remove this foreign body as painlessly as possible? You can just barely see the edge of the bead by just looking at the external ear.
By experience, you know that mini-Alligator clips and forceps will not be able to sufficiently grab the edges of the bead. Additionally it may push the bead in even further.