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Propofol infusion syndrome is a rare but extremely dangerous complication of propofol administration. Certain risk factors for the development of propofol infusion syndrome are described, such as appropriate propofol doses and durations of administration, carbohydrate depletion, severe illness, and concomitant administration of catecholamines and glucocorticosteroids. The pathophysiology of this condition includes impairment of mitochondrial beta-oxidation of fatty acids, disruption of the electron transport chain, and blockage of beta-adrenoreceptors and cardiac calcium channels. The disease commonly presents as an otherwise unexplained high anion gap metabolic acidosis, rhabdomyolysis, hyperkalemia, acute kidney injury, elevated liver enzymes, and cardiac dysfunction. Management of overt propofol infusion syndrome requires immediate discontinuation of propofol infusion and supportive management, including hemodialysis, hemodynamic support, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in refractory cases. However, we must emphasize that given the high mortality of propofol infusion syndrome, the best management is prevention. Clinicians should consider alternative sedative regimes to prolonged propofol infusions and remain within recommended maximal dose limits.

Cardiac arrest is a true medical emergency and clinicians should base the management on American Heart Association advanced cardiac life support algorithm. The potential triggers of cardiac arrest should be sought. We present a case of a 27-year-old female who developed cardiac arrest and was later found to have congenital long QT syndrome. The patient’s outcome was favorable. Discussion of the key management options will be discussed in the text.

Chest pain is one of the most common reasons for emergency department visits. Emergency medicine doctors should focus their initial assessment on patients’ stability. History, physical examination, and ancillary testing should exclude serious causes such as acute coronary syndrome, acute aortic syndromes, pulmonary embolism, pneumothorax, esophageal perforation, and rupture as well as pericardial tamponade. Young age should not be used alone as a predictor of a benign condition. Below we present a case of a 24-year-old female who was found to have ascending aortic dissection and was sent for emergent surgery.

Papillary serous carcinoma of the uterine cervix is a rare histological variant of cervical adenocarcinoma, with a very small number of cases reported. It is an aggressive tumor and is usually diagnosed at advanced stages by the time of diagnosis. Early-stage tumors can be treated with surgery and/or radiotherapy, while late-stage tumors have been treated with chemotherapy plus radical surgery with intermittent success. Here we report a case of metastatic papillary serous carcinoma observed at our hospital, which has been treated with debulking surgery and combination chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel.

Patients with nephrotic syndrome are at an increased risk for thrombotic events; deep venous thrombosis, renal vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism are quite common in patients with nephrotic syndrome. It is important to note that nephrotic syndrome secondary to membranous nephropathy may impose a greater thrombotic risk for unclear reasons. Increased platelet activation, enhanced red blood cell aggregation, and an imbalance between procoagulant and anticoagulant factors are thought to underlie the excessive thrombotic risk in patients with nephrotic syndrome. The current scientific literature suggests that patients with low serum albumin levels and membranous nephropathy may benefit from primary prophylactic anticoagulation. A thorough approach which includes accounting for all additional thrombotic risk factors is, therefore, essential. Patient counseling regarding the pros and cons of anticoagulation is of paramount importance. Future prospective randomized studies should address the question regarding the utility of primary thromboprophylaxis in patients with nephrotic syndrome.

Hairy cell leukemia is a rare lymphoid neoplasm arising from mature B-lymphocytes. Clinically, the disease presents with splenomegaly and abdominal discomfort, frequent infections, fatigue and bleeding because of related cytopenias. Bone marrow biopsy is essential for diagnosis. Below we describe a case of a 70-year-old African-American male who presented to our hematology clinic complaining of fatigue. Clinical exam and computed tomography imaging did not reveal splenic enlargement. Blood work-up revealed pancytopenia and bone marrow was diagnostic for hairy cell leukemia.The patient was started on cladribine, with gradual improvement of his symptoms and blood count abnormalities. Therefore, it is essential to keep hairy cell leukemia in the differential of pancytopenia even in the absence of a splenomegaly.

Drug-induced immune hemolytic anemia is a rare condition with an incidence of 1 per million of the population. We report the case of a 36-year-old female who presented to the emergency department complaining of shortness of breath and dark colored urine. Physical examination was significant for pale mucous membranes. The patient reported using ibuprofen for a few days prior to presentation. Complete blood count performed before starting ibuprofen revealed normal platelets and hemoglobin values. On admission, the patient had evidence of hemolytic anemia with hemoglobin of 4.9 g/dL, hematocrit of 14.2%, lactate dehydrogenase 435 IU/L, and reticulocytosis 23.2%. Further testing ruled out autoimmune disease, lymphoma, and leukemia as etiologies for the patient’s new onset hemolytic anemia. Ibuprofen was immediately stopped with a gradual hematologic recovery within 3 days.

Acute postpartum dyspnea in a young, previously healthy adult encompasses numerous conditions. One should be aware of various differential diagnoses including delayed postpartum preeclampsia-induced pulmonary edema where the occurrence is rare but a significant one due its deleterious consequences. We report a case of 26-year-old gravida 1/para 1 female who presented to the hospital with progressive dyspnea after 1 week of normal spontaneous vaginal delivery. On physical examination, her blood pressure was severely elevated. Her clinical signs and symptoms were consistent with pulmonary edema, but diagnostic tests excluded the cardiogenic causes. Further test revealed proteinuria. The patient was diagnosed with delayed postpartum preeclampsia.

A 17-year-old Hispanic female presented to our hospital with complaints of right upper quadrant abdominal pain, vomiting, and fever. Physical exam was positive for hepatomegaly. Abdominal computed tomography showed multiple hypoechoic liver masses. Liver biopsy was done, which was diagnostic for hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma.

The estimated annual incidence for drug-induced thrombocytopenia is 10 per million. Although fatal consequences are uncommon, life-threatening hemorrhage can occur due to spontaneous bleeding. We report a case of 84-year-old Caucasian female who presented to the emergency department with multiple episodes of bloody bowel movements. One week prior to this admission, she was started on trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for the treatment of skin abscess. On admission laboratory results showed platelet count of 4 × 103/mm3 and hemoglobin of 10.2 g/dL. Because of unstable vital signs, the patient was transferred to the intensive care unit where she received multiple units of platelet and blood transfusion. Drug-induced thrombocytopenia due to TMP/SMX was suspected. Intravenous methylprednisolone was started as well as immune globulin with good clinical response.

Chronic back pain is a common presenting complaint that is frequently encountered by clinicians. The challenge for clinicians is identifying the relatively few patients with a significant probability of a more serious problem that requires further evaluation. Such individuals require further evaluation for possible occult malignancy, infection, or fracture. We present a case of a 50-year-old male with a past medical history of chronic back pain and IV drug abuse who presented with acute back pain and in whom a diagnosis of vertebral osteomyelitis was missed during multiple visits to the emergency room.

A 52-year-old male with no significant past medical history reports increasing generalized fatigue and weakness for the past 2 weeks. Physical examination reveals jaundice and pallor without organomegaly or lymphadenopathy. His hemoglobin was 5.9 g/dL with a mean corpuscular volume of 87.1 fL and elevated red blood cell distribution width of 30.7%. His liver function test was normal except for elevated total bilirubin of 3.7 mg/dL. Serum LDH was 701 IU/L, and serum haptoglobin was undetectable. Further investigation revealed serum vitamin B12 of