The American journal of emergency medicine
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Limited health literacy is a risk factor for poor outcomes in numerous health care settings. Little is known about the impact of instructional modality and health literacy on adherence to emergency department (ED) discharge instructions. ⋯ Discharge instructional modality impacts antibiotic retrieval in patients with low health literacy. Preference for discharge instructional modality varies by degree of health literacy, but does not predict which modality will optimize 72-hour antibiotic retrieval.
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Chart review has been the mainstay of medical quality assurance practices since its introduction more than a century ago. The validity of chart review, however, has been vitiated by a lack of methodological rigor. ⋯ Agreement in the chart review process can be achieved among physician-reviewers. The degree of agreement attainable is comparable to or superior to that of similar studies reported to date. These results highlight the potential for the use of computerized screening, explicit criteria, and training of expert reviewers to improve the reliability and validity of chart review-based quality assurance.
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Observational Study
Tracheal ultrasonography and ultrasonographic lung sliding for confirming endotracheal tube placement: Faster? Reliable?
In this study we aimed to evaluate the success of ultrasonography (USG) for confirming the tube placement and timeliness by tracheal USG and ultrasonographic lung sliding in resuscitation and rapid sequence intubation. ⋯ Ultrasonography achieved high sensitivity and specificity for confirming tube placement and results faster than end-tidal carbon dioxide. Ultrasonography is a good alternative for confirming the endotracheal tube placement. Future studies should examine the use of ultrasonography as a method for real-time assessment of endotracheal tube placement by emergency physicians with only basic ultrasonographic training.
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The peripheral veins in the arms and forearms of patients with a history of intravenous (IV) drug use may be sclerosed, calcified, or collapsed due to damage from previous injections. These patients may consequently require alternative, more invasive types of vascular access including central venous or intraosseous catheters. We investigated the relationship between hand dominance and the presence of patent upper extremity (UE) veins specifically in patients with a history of IV drug-use. We predicted that injection into the non-dominant UE would occur with a higher frequency than the dominant UE, leading to fewer damaged veins in the dominant UE. If hand dominance affects which upper extremity has more patent veins, providers could focus their first vascular access attempt on the dominant upper extremity. ⋯ The number of compressible veins visualized with ultrasound was not greater in the dominant upper extremity as expected. Practitioners may gain more information about potential peripheral venous access sites by asking patients their previous injection practice patterns.
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Previous studies show that serum fibrinogen levels are established risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) and that serum albumin levels are of a higher specificity and sensitivity in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). In this study, we sought to evaluate the association between fibrinogen to albumin ratio (FAR) and the extent and severity of CAD evaluated by TAXUS Drug-Eluting Stent Versus Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery for the Treatment of Narrowed Arteries (SYNTAX) Score (SS) in patients with STEMI. ⋯ In the present study, we showed that FAR is significantly related to SS in predicting the severity of CAD in patients with STEMI.