Annals of emergency medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Topical anesthesia for pediatric lacerations: a randomized trial of lidocaine-epinephrine-tetracaine solution versus gel.
To compare the adequacy and efficacy of anesthesia experienced with lidocaine-epinephrine-tetracaine (LET) solution versus LET gel during suturing of uncomplicated lacerations on the face or scalp in children. ⋯ LET gel is at least as effective as LET solution and possesses theoretical advantages for topical anesthesia during suturing of uncomplicated lacerations on the face and scalp in children.
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"Suicide by cop" is a term used by law enforcement officers to describe an incident in which a suicidal individual intentionally engages in life-threatening and criminal behavior with a lethal weapon or what appears to be a lethal weapon toward law enforcement officers or civilians to specifically provoke officers to shoot the suicidal individual in self-defense or to protect civilians. The objective of this study was to investigate the phenomenon that some individuals attempt or commit suicide by intentionally provoking law enforcement officers to shoot them. ⋯ Suicide by cop is an actual form of suicide. The most appropriate term for this phenomenon is law enforcement-forced-assisted suicide. Law enforcement agencies may be able to develop strategies for early recognition and handling of law enforcement-forced-assisted suicide (suicide by cop). Health care providers involved in the evaluation of potentially suicidal individuals and in the resuscitation of officer-involved shootings should be aware of law enforcement-forced-assisted suicide as a form of suicide.
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Comparative Study
Emergency department observation unit: can it be funded through reduced inpatient admission?
We sought to test the assumption that an emergency department observation unit can be funded through the reallocation of resources made available through the unit's impact in reducing inpatient admissions and facilitating bed closures. ⋯ Because of the diffuse and inconsistent effect such a unit had on inpatient bed use, funding for an ED observation unit at our institution could not be justified on the basis of the closure of inpatient beds and transfer of resources.
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To design and implement a plan for emergency department staffing and additional space to reduce waiting time and the rate of patients leaving without being seen during the viral epidemic season. ⋯ VESAS, a plan for providing space and personnel to handle an increased volume of patients that can be activated on the basis of hourly census data, was successful as judged by waiting times and percentage of patients who left without being seen.