The American journal of emergency medicine
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study Observational Study
Characteristics and outcomes of acute pediatric blunt torso trauma based on injury intent.
Blunt trauma is a leading cause of pediatric morbidity. We compared injuries, interventions and outcomes of acute pediatric blunt torso trauma based on intent. ⋯ Children who sustain acute blunt torso trauma due to unintentional causes have a significantly higher risk of pelvic fractures and are more likely to be hospitalized compared to those with inflicted injuries.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Multicenter prevalence of opioid medication use as abortive therapy in the emergency department treatment of migraine headaches.
Despite a range of therapeutic options for treating acute migraine headaches, the use of opioids is still reported to be common practice. This study describes treatment practices in regards to migraines in the ED. It characterizes the prevalence of opioid orders during visits in three different settings, an academic medical center, a non-academic urban ED, and a community ED. ⋯ In the face of evidence against opioids for migraines, over one third of patients received them. There was a higher prevalence in the community setting. There were no significant benefits in overall throughput time, however, opioid visits required more rescue medications, increased length of stay, and resulted in more repeat visits.
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Multicenter Study
Clinical and financial implications of emergency department visits for synthetic marijuana.
Many users believe that synthetic cannabinoids offer a safe and legal means of getting high. However, spikes in emergency department visits have been associated with use of synthetic cannabinoids. The purpose of the current study was to document emergency department visits from three large hospitals in one metropolitan area over a two month period. ⋯ This study has three important findings. First, significant ED resources are being used to treat individuals presenting due to effects of synthetic cannabis. Second, synthetic cannabis is not a benign substance. Third, while the hostile and agitated user is generally presented in the media, this study finds significant heterogeneity in presentation. Further research is needed to fully understand the implications of synthetic cannabinoid use.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Retrospective comparison of the Low Risk Ankle Rules and the Ottawa Ankle Rules in a pediatric population.
A recent multicenter prospective Canadian study presented prospective evidence supporting the Low Risk Ankle Rules (LRAR) as a means of reducing the number of ankle radiographs ordered for children presenting with an ankle injury while maintaining nearly 100% sensitivity. This is in contrast to a previous prospective study which showed that this rule yielded only 87% sensitivity. ⋯ The Low Risk Ankle Rules may not be sensitive enough for use in Pediatric Emergency Departments, while the Ottawa Ankle Rules again demonstrated 100% sensitivity. Further research on ways to implement the Ottawa Ankle Rules and maximize its ability to decrease wait times, healthcare costs, and improve patient satisfaction are needed.