Why is it important to aggressively and appropriately manage rib fractures in elderly trauma patients? Recently, an 82 year-old male suffered a fall from standing, striking his left posterior flank against a cinder block, sustaining fractures of the left 7th-11th ribs with displacement of the 8th...
A diagnostic dilemma from the case files of Janus General. The presentation of this clinical zebra is provided by one of our esteemed editors, Adaira Landry, MD (@AllAroundDoc).
"Higher d-dimer levels correlate with more segments of the aorta involved, with false lumen type dissections, and with higher mortality rates"D-dimer has great sensitivity for aortic dissection, but its true clinical utility in the workup of this high-risk diagnosis remains undefined. Tim Schaefer, MD reviews diagnosis and management, as well as the recent literature on the role of the d-dimer.
