Clostridium botulinum has become one of the most well-known microorganisms in medical history, thanks to both fatal botulism epidemics and the recent medical use of botulinum neurotoxin. It is a Gram-positive, anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium that causes classic foodborne botulism, infant botulism, wound botulism, and intestinal colonization botulism, a serious neuroparalytic disease. The most common type of botulism is foodborne botulism, which is caused by eating botulinum toxin-contaminated foods. Just a few micrograms of toxin are enough to cause symptoms and, if untreated, death. Rapid ..read more

Despite the evidence and recommendations regarding the benefits of family-witnessed resuscitation, the opinions and attitudes of healthcare professionals vary widely. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 154 healthcare professionals working at the emergency departments of four hospitals within the borders of Ankara, Türkiye to examine their opinions and experiences on the practice of family-witnessed resuscitation. Data were collected by using the demographic form and the Family Presence Risk-Benefit Scale. Descriptive statistical analyses, t-test for samples, Mann-Whitney U ..read more

Dear Editor, When faced with a crisis, particularly when it involves humanitarian aid, emergency medicine (EM) practitioners push themselves to question, “How can we help?” and “To the best of our knowledge and skills, what can we truly do?”. The mindset of EM personnel is presumably one of "How can I help in these situations?" and, more crucially, "How can I help the most effectively?". To answer these questions, we present our experience in Ukraine ..read more

Human health is one of the earliest biosensors of climate change, which increases the frequency and severity of many diseases, as reported by Bellone.1 In Europe, air pollution is becoming a severe health problem that needs to be addressed by physicians of all specialties as well as governments and the general public. Unfortunately, it is acknowledged that the Po Valley in Italy is among the most polluted areas in Europe. As physicians practicing in this area, we feel we must remind our colleagues of the increasing impact of the environment on the health of ourselves and our patients. Along wi ..read more

A 91-year-old man presented at our emergency room complaining of sialorrhea and facial edema, especially around his lips and palpebral region. The symptoms started in the morning and got worse over two hours. He had a history of hypertension and hypokinetic ischemic cardiomyopathy treated with ramipril, doxazosin, aspirin, furosemide, amiodarone, ranolazine, atorvastatin, and pantoprazole. He referred an allergy to clopidogrel. He did not introduce any novel medications or foods. His vital signs were BP 150/70, HR 57 bpm, sO2 97% in room ambient, RR 18/min, and BT 36.4 °C. He presented a sever ..read more

Lung ultrasound (LUS) is an essential tool for respiratory disease differential diagnosis at Emergency Department (ED), due to easy applicability and safety. During Sars-Cov 2 pandemic, LUS was widely used in every setting. This study aims to demonstrate the prognostic role of LUS independently of other factors and the identification of an LUS score cut-off to be applied in the ED. A multi-center prospective study was conducted on 285 patients, 123 from Pisa University Hospital, 162 from S. Maria Misericordia Hospital of Perugia. All patients received LUS examination by expert sonographers wit ..read more

The environmental consequences of climate change are well known. The rise in the sea-level, increasing temperatures and more extreme weather events, increased droughts, flooding, and wildfires are impacting human health and lives. Temperature and humidity are the most consistent associations with infectious diseases and respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological outcomes. Temperature is also directly related to mortality and healthcare service use.1-3 The most important cause of global warming is the emissions of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2). The last year ..read more

Both side pain and urinary system pathologies are common reasons for admission to emergency departments. Spontaneous renal pelvic rupture is also very rare. Existing renal anomalies and calculi also increase the risk of rupture. Here, we present a 50-year-old male case who developed unilateral renal pelvis rupture spontaneously without trauma ..read more

Abstract from the AREA CRITICA congress in Rome, Centro Congressi Fontana di Trevi, November 30th - December 1st 2023 ..read more

A 91-year-old man presented at our emergency room complaining of sialorrhea and facial edema, especially around his lips and palpebral region. The symptoms started in the morning and got worse over two hours. He had a history of hypertension and hypokinetic ischemic cardiomyopathy treated with ramipril, doxazosin, aspirin, furosemide, amiodarone, ranolazine, atorvastatin, and pantoprazole. He referred an allergy to clopidogrel. He did not introduce any novel medications or foods. His vital signs were BP 150/70, HR 57 bpm, sO2 97% in room ambient, RR 18/min, and BT 36.4 °C. He presented a sever ..read more