Annals of emergency medicine
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To determine whether the addition of the supine oblique view of the cervical spine can detect fractures or ligamentous injury not seen on the standard three-view examination. ⋯ The supine oblique view may detect fractures or ligamentous injury not identifiable on the standard three-view examination. We recommend the routine use of a five-view cervical spine series with the inclusion of 30-degree supine oblique views in the evaluation of acute cervical spine injury.
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Comparative Study
Continuous pulse oximetry during emergency endotracheal intubation.
To determine whether continuous pulse oximetry improves the recognition and management of hypoxemia during emergency endotracheal intubation. ⋯ Continuous pulse oximetry monitoring reduces the frequency and duration of hypoxemia associated with emergency intubation attempts.
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Case Reports
Successful resuscitation from cardiac arrest using sublingual injection for medication delivery.
A 7-month-old child suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest. After eight minutes of basic CPR by the parents, paramedics arrived and found the child in asystole. ⋯ One hour after arrival in the emergency department, the patient again arrested, this time fatally. This case may represent the first report of successful resuscitation from cardiac arrest using sublingually injected medications.
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This was a follow-up study of patients diagnosed in and discharged from the emergency department with undifferentiated abdominal pain to establish the natural history of this condition and to define clinical features of patients with undifferentiated abdominal pain. ⋯ Patients with the diagnosis of undifferentiated abdominal pain have a benign short-term course. Almost 88% of patients were pain-free or improved by two to three weeks after their evaluation. No signs or symptoms clearly identified subgroups of patients with undifferentiated abdominal pain.
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The primary objective was to determine whether rates of ambulance misuse varied systematically by type of health insurance. The secondary objective was to determine whether the level of service provided in the ambulance varied by ambulance company ownership. ⋯ Ambulance misuse is common in the studied community and may be related to the broader problem of the provision of care to the poor or otherwise underserved. Our results raise several interesting questions for further research.