An Unusual Case of Alternating Ventricular Morphology on the 12-Lead Electrocardiogram

Publication date: Available online 7 October 2016
Source:The Journal of Emergency Medicine
Author(s): Maura Sammon, Alveena Dawood, Scott Beaudoin, Richard A. Harrigan
BackgroundOne of the principal tasks of an emergency physician is identifying potentially life-threatening conditions in the undifferentiated patient; cardiac dysrhythmia is an example of such a condition. A systematic approach to a patient with atypical dysrhythmia enables proper identification of such-life threatening conditions.Case ReportWe describe a 31-year-old man presenting to the emergency department with an undifferentiated dysrhythmia after naloxone reversal of an opiate overdose. A systematic approach to the electrocardiogram led to the rare diagnosis of Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) alternans. We review the differential diagnosis of this dysrhythmia and the initial evaluation of a patient with the WPW pattern present on their electrocardiogram.Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This?Emergency physicians should be prepared to use a systematic approach to an undifferentiated dysrhythmia to identify potentially life-threatening conditions.



from Emergency Medicine via xlomafota13 on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2dLXEE5