The American journal of emergency medicine
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Observational Study
Adverse events and satisfaction with use of intranasal midazolam for emergency department procedures in children.
Procedural sedation is commonly performed in the emergency department (ED). Having safe and fast means of providing sedation and anxiolysis to children is important for the child's tolerance of the procedure, parent satisfaction and efficient patient flow in the ED. ⋯ Our data suggest that short NPO of both solids and liquids are safe for the use of INM. Additionally, parent and provider satisfaction scores were high with the use of INM.
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Short-distance air medical transport for adult emergency patients does not significantly affect patients' body temperature and outcomes. This study aimed to examine the influence of long-distance air medical transport on patients' body temperatures and the relationship between body temperature change and mortality. ⋯ Physicians should consider body temperature change during long-distance air transport in patients with not only hypothermia but also normothermia or hyperthermia before air transport, especially in winter.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
D-dimer levels in VTE patients with distal and proximal clots.
There is growing evidence that venous thromboembolism (VTE) patients with distal clots (distal calf deep vein thrombosis [DVT] and sub-segmental pulmonary embolism [PE]) may not routinely benefit from anticoagulation. We compared the D-dimer levels in VTE patients with distal and proximal clots. ⋯ VTE patients with proximal clots had higher D-dimer levels than patients with distal clots. However, D-dimer levels cannot be used alone to discriminate between VTE patients with distal or proximal clots.
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The purpose was to determine significant predictors of treatment failure of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) in the inpatient and outpatient setting. ⋯ Patients with an elevated BMI and heart failure were found to have increased odds of failure with treatment for SSTIs. However, inpatients had considerably less risk of failure than outpatients. These risk factors are important to note when making the decision whether to admit a patient who presents with SSTI in the emergency department. Thoughtful strategies are needed with this at-risk population to prevent subsequent admission.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Test performance of point-of-care ultrasound for gastric content.
We sought to determine test performance characteristics of emergency physician ultrasound for the identification of gastric contents. ⋯ Emergency physician sonologists were sensitive but less specific at detecting stomach contents using gastric ultrasound.