Annals of emergency medicine
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Observational Study
Unsuspected Critical Illness Among Emergency Department Patients Presenting for Acute Alcohol Intoxication.
Emergency department (ED) visits for acute alcohol intoxication are common, but this population is at risk for decompensation and occult critical illness. The purpose of this study is to describe the incidence and predictors of unsuspected critical illness among patients with acute alcohol intoxication. ⋯ Critical care resources were used for 1% of ED patients with alcohol intoxication who were initially assessed by physicians to have low risk. Abnormal vital signs, hypoglycemia, and chemical sedation were associated with increased odds of critical illness.
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Intravenous subdissociative-dose ketamine has been shown to be effective for pain management, but has not been specifically studied for headaches in the emergency department (ED). For this reason, we designed a study to compare standard treatment (prochlorperazine) with ketamine in patients with benign headaches in the ED. ⋯ Prochlorperazine appears to be superior to ketamine for the treatment of benign headaches in the ED.