The American journal of emergency medicine
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Multicenter Study
Practice variation in neuroimaging to evaluate dizziness in the ED.
The appropriate role of neuroimaging to evaluate emergency department (ED) patients with dizziness is not established by guidelines or evidence. ⋯ The use of neuroimaging for ED patients with dizziness varies substantially without an associated improvement in stroke diagnosis, which is identified only rarely.
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Review Comparative Study
Cardiocerebral resuscitation vs cardiopulmonary resuscitation for cardiac arrest: a systematic review.
The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of cardiocerebral resuscitation (CCR) vs cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). ⋯ Cardiocerebral resuscitation might be equivalent or superior to CPR in patients with OHCA in both survival rate and neurologic benefits. Further work is needed to assess the efficacy of CCR for victims who had OHCA of noncardiac causes.
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Medication errors are a common cause of iatrogenic adverse drug events. The incidence and nature of medication errors during prehospital treatment have not been fully described. ⋯ More medication errors occur in the ED than in the emergency vehicles. Patients treated with multiple medications are more prone to medication errors.
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Unintentional, non-fire-related (UNFR) carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a leading cause of poisoning in the United States, but the overall hospital burden is unknown. This study presents patient characteristics and the most recent comprehensive national estimates of UNFR CO-related emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations. ⋯ Unintentional, non-fire-related CO poisonings pose significant economic and health burden; continuous monitoring and surveillance of CO poisoning are needed to guide prevention efforts. Public health programs should emphasize CO alarm use at home as the main prevention strategy.
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The aim of this study was to describe a case of a large traumatic pneumothorax (>55%) that resolved completely without intervention. A pneumothorax is the accumulation of air between the visceral and parietal pleura. It can occur spontaneously or be traumatic. ⋯ She was not treated at another facility during that time. This is a typical manifestation of a traumatic pneumothorax but with an atypical course and outcome. It raises the question of whether, even in the case of traumatic pneumothorax, the threshold for placement of chest tubes could be reconsidered in stable patients.