Annals of emergency medicine
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Infection prevention remains a major challenge in emergency care. Acutely ill and injured patients seeking evaluation and treatment in the emergency department (ED) not only have the potential to spread communicable infectious diseases to health care personnel and other patients, but are vulnerable to acquiring new infections associated with the care they receive. ⋯ We will conclude by examining what can be done to optimize infection prevention in the ED and identify gaps in knowledge where further research is needed. Successful implementation of evidence-based practices coupled with innovation of novel approaches and technologies tailored specifically to the complex and dynamic environment of the ED are the keys to raising the standard for infection prevention and patient safety in emergency care.
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Elevated blood pressure is present in more than 60% of patients with acute stroke. Moderate to severe hypertension affects stroke outcomes, yet the optimal management has been a gray area in the care of such patients. Although new data are changing the approach, particularly for hemorrhagic events, significant questions remain. This article presents the latest evidence on hypertension in the setting of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke and highlights management considerations that are relevant to emergency medicine.
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We assess the sensitivity and specificity of xanthochromia as adjudicated by visual inspection and spectrophotometry at predicting the presence of cerebral aneurysm in patients with suspected subarachnoid hemorrhage who have a normal computed tomography (CT) head scan result. ⋯ The heterogeneity in the underlying studies, combined with significant overlap in pooled confidence limits, makes it impossible to provide a definite conclusion about the diagnostic accuracy of spectrophotometry versus visual inspection.
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There is no consensus about the management of large spontaneous pneumothoraces. Guidelines recommend either needle aspiration or chest tube drainage and most patients are hospitalized. We assess the efficiency of ambulatory management of large spontaneous pneumothoraces with pigtail catheters. ⋯ Ambulatory management with pigtail catheters with 1-way valves could be a reasonable first-line of treatment for large spontaneous pneumothoraces. Compared with that of other studies, our protocol does not require hospitalization and is cost saving.
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Acute stroke is an important focus of quality improvement efforts. There are many organizations involved in quality measurement for acute stroke, and a complex landscape of quality measures exists. Our objective is to describe and evaluate existing US quality measures for the emergency care of acute ischemic stroke patients in the emergency department (ED) setting. ⋯ Three of the 7 measures met all 4 of the ACC/AHA evaluation criteria: brain imaging within 24 hours, thrombolytic therapy within 3 hours of symptom onset, and thrombolytic therapy within 60 minutes of hospital arrival. Measures not satisfying all evaluation criteria were brain imaging report within 45 minutes, consideration for thrombolytic therapy, dysphagia screening, and mortality rate. There remains room for improvement in the development and use of measures that reflect high-quality emergency care of acute ischemic stroke patients in the United States.