Annals of emergency medicine
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Observational Study
Duration of Coma in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Survivors Treated With Targeted Temperature Management.
We evaluate the time to awakening after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in patients treated with targeted temperature management and determine whether there was an association with any patient or event characteristics. ⋯ We found that a substantial proportion of adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors treated with targeted temperature management became responsive greater than 48 hours after rewarming, with a resultant good neurologic outcome.
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The location of a patient's residence is often used for emergency medical services (EMS) system planning. Our objective is to evaluate the association between patient residence and emergency incident zip codes for 911 calls. ⋯ In NEMSIS, there was geographic discordance between patient residence zip code and call location zip code in slightly more than one quarter of EMS responses records. The geographic discordance rates between residence and incident zip codes were associated with dispatch complaints and age. Although a patient's residence might be a valid proxy for incident location for elderly patients, this relationship holds less true for other age groups and among different complaints. Our findings have important implications for EMS system planning, resource allocation, and injury surveillance.
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Paradoxical vocal fold motion disorder, also commonly termed vocal cord dysfunction, is a poorly understood cause of acute upper airway obstruction. Patients with paradoxical vocal fold motion frequently present to the emergency department (ED) with acute respiratory distress and stridor. ⋯ Although long-term management of paradoxical vocal fold motion is well described, there is a paucity of information about acute evaluation and management. This article aims to summarize the ED presentation and management of paradoxical vocal fold motion.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Making Sense of a Negative Clinical Trial Result: A Bayesian Analysis of a Clinical Trial of Lorazepam and Diazepam for Pediatric Status Epilepticus.
We demonstrate the application of a Bayesian approach to a recent negative clinical trial result. A Bayesian analysis of such a trial can provide a more useful interpretation of results and can incorporate previous evidence. ⋯ Because Bayesian analysis estimates the probability of one or more hypotheses, such an approach can provide more useful information about the meaning of the results of a negative trial outcome. In the case of pediatric status epilepticus, it is highly likely that lorazepam is noninferior and practically equivalent to diazepam.
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Loperamide is an over-the-counter antidiarrheal with μ-opioid agonist activity. Central nervous system opioid effects are not observed after therapeutic oral dosing because of poor bioavailability and minimal central nervous system penetration. ⋯ Ventricular dysrhythmias and prolongation of the QRS duration and QTc interval have been reported after oral loperamide abuse. We describe 2 fatalities in the setting of significantly elevated loperamide concentrations.