Annals of emergency medicine
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This study explored how a variety of demographic and illness-related factors were associated with telephone follow-up among patients visiting the emergency department for acute asthma. ⋯ In contrast to some reports in the literature, telephone contact rates were high. However, successful contact was not equally likely among all patient groups. Although the high contact rates support the feasibility of telephone follow-up of asthmatic patients visiting the ED, the results also act as a reminder of the potential biases that may arise when using telephone contact for clinical, quality assurance, and research reasons. [Boudreaux ED, Clark S, Camargo CA Jr, on behalf of the MARC Investigators. Telephone follow-up after the emergency department visit: experience with acute asthma. Ann Emerg Med. June 2000;35:555-563.].
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We sought to compare the characteristics and medical outcomes of motor vehicle crashes for drivers 70 years and older with those of drivers between the ages of 30 and 39 years. ⋯ Older drivers do have distinctive motor vehicle crash patterns. Interventions must be taken to reduce the number of left-hand turn crashes involving older drivers. In addition, further research is needed to design, implement, and evaluate countermeasures that may enable older drivers to continue driving while keeping public safety in the forefront.
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Because the ability of gastrointestinal decontamination to alter drug absorption varies inversely with time, we compared the time from arrival in the emergency department to gastrointestinal decontamination (gastric lavage or activated charcoal) for patients transported by ambulance with patients transported by other means after overdose. ⋯ Overdose patients transported by ambulance have a shorter time interval from ED arrival to gastrointestinal decontamination than patients arriving by other means. This difference was largely related to more rapid gastric lavage.
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[National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. EMS Education Agenda for the Future: a vision for the future of EMS education. Ann Emerg Med. June 2000;35:623-624.].