BACKGROUND Crush trauma to the extremities, even if not involving vital organs, can be life threatening. Crush syndrome, the systemic manifestation of the breakdown of muscle cells with release of contents into the circulation, leads to metabolic derangement and acute kidney injury. Although common in disaster scenarios, emergency physicians also see the syndrome in patients after motor-vehicle...

INTRODUCTION Gluteal compartment syndrome is a rare, often unrecognized syndrome that may manifest as renal failure, sepsis, and death. Delay in diagnosis can result in significant morbidity and possible mortality. We report a case of occult gluteal compartment syndrome causing unresolving rhabdomyolysis. CASE PRESENTATION A 50-year-old Caucasian American man with history of chronic obstructi...

Rhabdomyolysis is most frequently caused by soft tissue injury with trauma to the extremities. Non-traumatic rhabdomyolysis may be caused by alcohol or drug abuse, infection, collagen disease, or intensive exercise, but incidence is low. In particular, rhabdomyolysis resulting from carbon monoxide poisoning is especially rare. If caught before death, carbon monoxide poisoning has been shown to ...

BACKGROUND Severe acute pancreatitis is associated with sever multiorgan failure from 15 to 50%, depending on the series. In some of these patients, conventional methods of ventilation and respiratory support will fail, demanding the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Abdominal compartment syndrome is potentially harmful in this cohort of patients. We describe the successful tre...

Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is an iatrogenic complication of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) protocols performed in women undergoing assisted reproductive technologies. Overstimulation of the ovaries results in the overproduction of vasoactive cytokines and mediators by the ovaries, thereby causing a generalized capillary leak and acute shift of protein-rich fluid from th...

Acute compartment syndrome of the thigh is rare but has been described as a result of femur fracture and also thigh contusion in sports injury. Emergency fasciotomy has routinely been the recommended treatment. We describe a patient with a closed femur fracture, initially without any syndrome whilst on traction, and required surgical intervention. He was found to have a large haematoma associat...