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ER doc here. Saw a patient the other day, sent by ambulance from the dentist without any paperwork or anything. According to the patient he was sent because he started having facial swelling and trouble talking. By the time I saw him, it was roughly 2 hours after he had received local anesthetic and the symptoms started. He did have some right sided facial droop and slurred speech, but otherwise normal exam. Perhaps a little uvula deviation away from the affected side, but minimal if so. Felt as though his throat was feeling weird as well.
Based off the acute onset immediately after local anesthetic injection, and the patient stating that it was getting a little better than it was an hour earlier, I presumed it was all anesthetic related. Observed the patient another 2 hours, and symptoms almost gone.
Question to y'all is, did this dentist think there was a stroke going on? Is there some complication I should be aware of that I should have evaluated the patient for?
I know I could have called the dentist, but it was a Monday and we had a steady stream of ambulances lined up almost all day long. Thanks in advance.
Based off the acute onset immediately after local anesthetic injection, and the patient stating that it was getting a little better than it was an hour earlier, I presumed it was all anesthetic related. Observed the patient another 2 hours, and symptoms almost gone.
Question to y'all is, did this dentist think there was a stroke going on? Is there some complication I should be aware of that I should have evaluated the patient for?
I know I could have called the dentist, but it was a Monday and we had a steady stream of ambulances lined up almost all day long. Thanks in advance.