Annals of emergency medicine
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Review Meta Analysis Comparative Study
HEART Score Risk Stratification of Low-Risk Chest Pain Patients in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
The objectives of this systematic review and meta-analysis are to appraise the evidence in regard to the diagnostic accuracy of a low-risk History, ECG, Age, Risk Factors, and Troponin (HEART) score for prediction of major adverse cardiac events in emergency department (ED) patients. These included 4 subgroup analyses: by geographic region, the use of a modified low-risk HEART score (traditional HEART score [0 to 3] in addition to negative troponin results), using conventional versus high-sensitivity troponin assays in the HEART score, and a comparison of different post-ED-discharge patient follow-up intervals. ⋯ In this meta-analysis, despite its use in different patient populations, the troponin type used, and timeline of follow-up, a low-risk HEART score had high sensitivity, negative predictive value, and negative likelihood ratio for predicting short-term major adverse cardiac events, although risk of bias and statistical heterogeneity were high.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Prehospital Analgesia With Intranasal Ketamine (PAIN-K): A Randomized Double-Blind Trial in Adults.
We compare intranasal ketamine with intranasal placebo in providing pain reduction at 30 minutes when added to usual paramedic care with nitrous oxide. ⋯ Added to nitrous oxide, intranasal ketamine provides clinically significant pain reduction and improved comfort compared with intranasal placebo, with more minor adverse events.
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Comparative Study
Evaluation of Outpatient Cardiac Stress Testing After Emergency Department Encounters for Suspected Acute Coronary Syndrome.
Professional guidelines recommend 72-hour cardiac stress testing after an emergency department (ED) evaluation for possible acute coronary syndrome. There are limited data on actual compliance rates and effect on patient outcomes. Our aim is to describe rates of completion of noninvasive cardiac stress testing and associated 30-day major adverse cardiac events. ⋯ Less than one third of patients completed outpatient stress testing within the guideline-recommended 3 days after initial evaluation. More important, the low adverse event rates suggest that selective outpatient stress testing is safe. In this cohort of patients selected for outpatient cardiac stress testing in a well-integrated health system, there does not appear to be any associated benefit of stress testing within 3 days, nor within 30 days, compared with those who never received testing at all. The lack of benefit of obtaining timely testing, in combination with low rates of objective adverse events, may warrant reassessment of the current guidelines.