Annals of emergency medicine
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To determine the frequency with which patients with suspected tuberculosis (TB) or TB risk factors present to US emergency departments and to describe current ED TB infection-control facilities and practices. ⋯ Patients with TB or at risk for TB are often treated in US EDs, and the risk for transmission of TB in this setting appears to be increasing. Prolonged waiting times and lack of infection-control facilities in EDs may contribute to this problem. Consideration should be given to implementation of policies and facilities recommended by the CDC.
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To survey emergency care providers about their stethoscope-cleaning measures and to determine the correlation between these measures and the extent of Staphylococcus carriage. ⋯ Our results confirm that stethoscopes used in emergency practice are often contaminated with staphylococci and are therefore a potential vector of infection. This contamination is greatly reduced by frequent cleaning with alcohol or nonionic detergent.
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To evaluate the ability of emergency health care providers and patients to demonstrate the proper use of metered-dose inhalers (MDIs). ⋯ These results suggest that many patients use MDIs improperly. Emergency physicians, house staff, and nurses responsible for instructing patients in optimal inhaler use may lack even rudimentary skills with these devices.
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Comment Letter Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Hyperbaric oxygen and carbon monoxide poisoning.
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The recent increase in tuberculosis (TB) cases may have an important effect on emergency department infection-control measures. We describe infection-control interventions for TB patients admitted through the ED and hypothesize that ED suspicion of TB is associated with more rapid isolation and treatment. ⋯ Among patients with active pulmonary TB in the ED, TB is often unsuspected and isolation measures are often not used. ED suspicion of TB is associated with more rapid isolation and treatment.