Annals of emergency medicine
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We synthesize the available evidence on the effect of ketamine on intracranial and cerebral perfusion pressures, neurologic outcomes, ICU length of stay, and mortality. ⋯ According to the available literature, the use of ketamine in critically ill patients does not appear to adversely affect patient outcomes.
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The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the largest in history. Ebola viral disease is a severe and fatal illness characterized by a nonspecific viral syndrome followed by fulminant septic shock and coagulopathy. ⋯ Because a case of Ebola viral disease was confirmed in the United States on September 30, 2014, emergency medicine providers should be knowledgeable about it for a number of reasons: we are being called on to answer questions about Ebola and allay public fears, we are likely to be first to encounter an infected patient, and there are increasing numbers of US emergency physicians working in Africa who risk coming in direct contact with the disease. This article seeks to provide emergency physicians with the essential and up-to-date information required to identify, evaluate, and manage Ebola viral disease and to join global efforts to contain the current outbreak.