Annals of emergency medicine
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Asystole is the most common initial rhythm in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) but indicates a low likelihood of neurologic recovery. This study aimed to develop a novel scoring system to be easily applied at the time of emergency department arrival for identifying favorable neurologic outcomes in OHCA survivors with an asystole rhythm. ⋯ Although external validation studies must be performed, among OHCA patients with asystole, the WBC-ASystole scoring system may identify those patients who are likely to have a favorable neurologic outcome.
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Children with positive blood cultures obtained in the emergency department (ED) prompt urgent actions due to the risk of bacteremia. This study aimed to validate the Hospital for Sick Children algorithm used for discriminating bacteremia from contaminants and identified variables associated with bacteremia in children with positive blood cultures. ⋯ The Hospital for Sick Children algorithm exhibits 100% sensitivity to detect children with bacteremia but demonstrated low specificity at 11%. We identified predictors to discriminate contaminants from bacteremia.