Annals of emergency medicine
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Several studies have examined the effect of early defibrillation by basic EMTs on patient survival. Although the studies have a common theme of early basic EMT defibrillation, they are diverse in locations, devices, control groups, caregivers, and protocols. ⋯ The purpose of this metaanalysis was to examine the published studies of early basic EMT defibrillation to learn whether this treatment has an effect on survival of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Analysis of the 10 studies that met inclusion criteria showed that despite variations in design, the overall effect size for all the studies was .092, indicating a 9.2% increase in survival over what would have been expected had the EMT-Ds not intervened.
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To examine the spectrum of electrical injuries and develop guidelines for management. ⋯ Children involved in electrical events are usually exposed to low-voltage household current resulting in minor injury. Asymptomatic children with minor electrical injuries do not require laboratory evaluation or hospitalization.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Randomized, placebo-controlled evaluation of prochlorperazine versus metoclopramide for emergency department treatment of migraine headache.
To determine the comparative efficacy of i.v. metoclopramide and prochlorperazine for the initial emergency department treatment of migraine headache. ⋯ i.v. prochlorperazine relieves the headache and tends to improve nausea better than metoclopramide in ED patients with acute migraine headache.
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More people die in the United States each day of potentially reversible VF than of any other cause of death, reversible or not. Early defibrillation is the definitive treatment. Automated external defibrillation is a proven technology now confirmed to have saved thousands of lives. ⋯ FDA personnel may view such reports of device problems in association with patient deaths as evidence that an intrinsically flawed technology has reached the marketplace without rigorous testing and evaluation. From the clinician's perspective, however, these reports represent a small numerator over a huge denominator of daily, lifesaving clinical use. The non-FDA participants at the two meetings have stated that the FDA complaints appear to be random and reveal a lack of understanding of AED technology.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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Asthmatic patients have marked circadian variation in disease severity, with bronchospasm far worse between midnight and 8 AM than at other times of day. In this study we sought to determine whether circadian variation in asthma severity is clinically relevant for purposes of emergency management. ⋯ In our study group, asthmatic patients who presented nocturnally to the ED did not differ from other asthmatic patients in disease severity and therefore do not appear to represent a unique population for purposes of ED management or disposition decisions.