Annals of emergency medicine
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Evaluation of the Mercy TAPE: Performance Against the Standard for Pediatric Weight Estimation.
We assessed the performance of 2 new devices (2D- and 3D-Mercy TAPE) to implement the Mercy Method for pediatric weight estimation and contrasted their accuracy with the Broselow method. ⋯ The 2D- and 3D-Mercy TAPEs outperform the Broselow tape for pediatric weight estimation and can be used in a wider range of children.
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Multicenter Study
Isolated Skull Fractures: Trends in Management in US Pediatric Emergency Departments.
Previous studies have suggested that children with isolated skull fractures are at low risk of requiring neurosurgical intervention, suggesting that admission to the hospital may not be necessary in many instances. We seek to evaluate current practice for children presenting to the emergency department (ED) for isolated skull fractures in US children's hospitals. ⋯ Most children treated in EDs of US children's hospitals with isolated skull fractures are hospitalized. The rate of neurosurgical intervention is very low. A better understanding of current practice is necessary to assess whether these admissions are warranted or not.
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The aim of this study is to determine the content of 5 important emergency medical services (EMS) drugs after being stored at the recommended refrigerated temperature, room temperature, or in an emergency physician transport vehicle operating under real-world working conditions. ⋯ When stored at room temperature or in the emergency physician transport vehicle, lorazepam became unstable within weeks, whereas succinylcholine chloride and cisatracurium besylate became unstable within months. Adrenaline hydrochloride and methylergonovine maleate remained stable for several months, even under room temperature and emergency physician transport vehicle conditions. Thus, real-world EMS working conditions pose challenges for maintaining optimal efficacy of these important EMS drugs.
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Editorial Comment
Being judge and jury: a new skill for emergency physicians.