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Methemoglobinemia results from increased amounts of oxidized hemoglobin in the blood with an ensuing change in oxygen dissociation curve and lack of oxygen delivery to tissue. A previously well, male toddler was brought to the Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) with abrupt onset of altered mental status and cyanosis after a suspected ingestion of “Rush” nail polish remover. He was quickly diagnosed with methemoglobinemia by both clinical presentation and chocolate-colored blood appearance. He emergently received intravenous (IV) methylene blue (MB) with immediate and sustained improvement requiring no further doses. Though inhalation of nitrites and subsequent methemoglobinemia is frequently reported in adolescents, we were unable to find any cases in the literature detailing ingestion of this product and the resulting clinical manifestations. Our objective with this report is to describe a rare case of a toddler with an accidental ingestion of “Rush” nail polish remover, a nitrite compound. Our patient presented to the PED with abrupt onset of altered level of consciousness, hypotension, and cyanosis resulting from acquired methemoglobinemia. This case report demonstrates the importance of emergency clinicians being able to make clinical judgements and decisions based on the history and physical exam when methemoglobinemia is suspected.

Organizational structure has evolved over the past several decades, with physicians assuming more or fewer leadership positions over time. Regardless of the role of physicians in health care organizational leadership, constant meaningful communication with the hospital, radiology group, or greater physician group administrative leadership is vital for any group of IR physicians to be successful. Understanding what is considered important to hospital administration and, in particular, being closely aligned with the C-suite leadership, is paramount to having successful communication with these stakeholders. Although each situation will obligatorily be unique, certain themes can be followed to optimize the working relationship between an interventional radiology service and organizational administration. This article provides guidelines and suggestions specifically in communicating with health care system leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and rationale for the study. The Model for End Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score has not been derived and validated for the emergent transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) population. We sought to identify predictive factors for survival among emergent TIPS patients, and to substantiate MELD for outcomes prognostication in this population.Results. 101 patients with acute life threatening variceal hemorrhage underwent emergent TIPS (defined by failed endoscopic therapy for active bleeding, acute hemoglobin drop, ≥ 2-unit transfusion requirement, and/or vasopressor need) at between 1998-2013. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and procedure parameters were analyzed for correlation with mortality using Cox proportional hazards regression to derive the prognostic value of MELD constituents. Area under receiver operator characteristic (AUROC) curves was used to assess the capability of MELD prediction of mortality. TIPS were created 119 ± 167 h after initial bleeding events. Hemodynamic success was achieved in 90%. Median final portosystemic pressure gradient was 8 mmHg. Variceal rebleeding incidence was 21%. The four original MELD components showed significant correlation with mortality on multivariate Cox regression: baseline bilirubin (regression coefficient 0.366), creatinine (0.621), international normalized ratio (1.111), and liver disease etiology (0.808), validating the MELD system for emergent cases. No other significant predictive parameters were identified. MELD was an excellent predictor of 90-day mortality in the emergent TIPS population (AUROC = 0.842, 95% CI 0.755-0.928).Conclusions. Based on independent derivation of prognostic constituents and confirmation of predictive accuracy, MELD is a valid and reliable metric for risk stratification and survival projection after emergent TIPS.