The American journal of emergency medicine
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The aim of this study was to determine whether plasma levels of amino-terminal brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) could differentiate between heart failure and lung disease among infants with acute bronchiolitis. ⋯ The comments were taken for consideration. The patient groups control BNP levels were attached to the results. As it was a clinical study and multiple factors (respiratory score, respiratory rate, treatment, etc) may effect on BNP levels, the tables could not be decreased to 1 table.
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Electronic medical records (EMRs) implementation in hospitals and emergency departments (EDs) is becoming increasingly more common. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of an EMR system on patient-related factors that correlate to ED workflow efficiency. ⋯ Installation of a hospital-wide EMR system had minimal impact on workflow efficiency parameters in an ED.
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Multicenter Study
Incidence of advanced intravenous access in 2 urban EDs.
In an emergency department (ED), intravenous (IV) access is frequently accomplished by inspection and palpation of peripheral veins. Failure of these methods indicates severe IV access difficulty and necessitates advanced techniques. Here, we estimate the incidence of advanced IV access in 2 urban EDs with varying resident coverage. ⋯ Advanced IV access is needed in 3.2% of IV attempts in 2 urban EDs with varying levels of resident coverage. We found similar incidence in both EDs.
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Delirium tremens (DT) is the severest form of alcohol withdrawal syndrome, frequently after alcohol withdrawal seizures. Delirium tremens occurs in a small proportion of patients with alcohol withdrawal seizures; nevertheless, early identification of high-risk patients is important for intensive preventive management of unexpected episodes due to agitation and its associated increased mortality. However, there are limited studies on clinical predictors of the development of DT in patients with alcohol withdrawal seizures. ⋯ The study indicated that some easily determined parameters are potential clinical predictors for the development of DT in patients with alcohol withdrawal seizures. These findings would be helpful in clinical identification and management patients at high risk for DT.