The American journal of emergency medicine
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Observational Study
eFAST exam errors at a level 1 trauma center: A retrospective cohort study.
Extended Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (eFAST) ultrasound exams are central to the care of the unstable trauma patient. We examined six years of eFAST quality assurance data to identify the most common reasons for false positive and false negative eFAST exams. ⋯ The eFAST exams in trauma activation patients are highly accurate. Unfortunately poor documentation and technically limited/incomplete studies represent 29.8% of our eFAST exams. Pelvic fluid, double-line sign, pericardial fat pad, and the thoracic portion of the eFAST exam are the most common source of errors.
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Cardiac output (CO) responses to acute changes in body position and Valsalva maneuver (VM) were proposed to assess cardiac contractile reserve. We investigated the value of sitting position (SP), leg raising (LR), and VM for identifying heart failure (HF) in patients with undifferentiated dyspnea. ⋯ the diagnosis of HF can be aided with use of analyzing the effect of VM on non-invasively measured CO among patients admitted to the ED with undifferentiated dyspnea. Diagnostic yield of SP and LR was poor.
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The impact of alcohol or opioid use disorders on medication dosing for procedural sedation in the emergency department (ED) is unclear, as most of the literature is from gastrointestinal endoscopy. Exploring how these patient factors affect sedative and analgesic medications may inform more nuanced sedation strategies in the emergency department. ⋯ Although sedation in patients with AUD or OUD may be associated with significant case bias, these patient factors did not significantly alter outcomes compared to the general population. This study suggests there is no evidence to proactively adjust medication strategy in ED patients with AUD or OUD.
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The purpose of this study was to describe the design and impact of a point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) workflow integrated into the electronic medical record (EMR) on PoCUS utilization, documentation compliance, and resultant revenue potential. ⋯ The implementation of a middleware-free PoCUS workflow at our institution was associated with increased PoCUS utilization, documentation compliance, and potential revenue.
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Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) accounts for 16% of all leukemias in children. Prognosis in the pediatric population is better than that of older populations, with a younger age at diagnosis being a favorable prognostic factor [1]. Diplopia is a rare first presenting sign of AML. ⋯ Peripheral smear showed increased blast cells >10%. This patient was ultimately diagnosed with AML. This case demonstrates an atypical presentation of AML and urges a thorough work up for patients presenting with unexplained diplopia.