The American journal of emergency medicine
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The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that an elevated neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) at admission is associated with and increased risk of mortality in older patients admitted to the emergency department (ED). ⋯ These results show that the NLR at admission is associated with in-hospital mortality among patients older than 65 years without hematologic malignancy. Thus, NLR at admission may represent a surrogate marker of disease severity.
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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel virus responsible for causing the novel coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19). ⋯ COVID-19 is a potentially deadly infection, but data are limited concerning the pregnant population. Pregnant patients appear to present similarly to the general population, with fever and cough being the most reported symptoms in studies. Knowledge of these presentations and outcomes can assist clinicians caring for these patients.
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Naloxone provision to emergency department patients recognized as high-risk for opioid use disorder.
Patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) are at increased risk for overdose and death. Clinical practice guidelines and professional organization policy statements recommend providing naloxone to patients at risk for overdose. We sought to characterize fidelity to naloxone practice recommendations in a cohort of Emergency Department (ED) patients in whom opioid use disorder was suspected by the treating physician. ⋯ A majority of ED patients who received an intervention targeted at OUD, in an ED where take-home naloxone is freely available, did not receive either take-home naloxone or a prescription for naloxone at discharge. Patients receiving buprenorphine were less likely to receive naloxone than patients only referred to outpatient treatment. These data suggest barriers other than recognition of potential OUD and naloxone availability impact provision of naloxone and argue for a treatment "bundle" as a conceptual model for care of ED patients with suspected OUD.
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Timely defibrillation is associated with increased survival in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) cases. This study aimed to determine whether the time to first defibrillation was associated with good neurological outcomes in OHCA patients with refractory ventricular fibrillation. ⋯ A short time from collapse to first defibrillation was associated with good neurological recovery among patients with OHCA and refractory ventricular fibrillation. This result suggests that a failed first shock still has a positive effect if it is delivered quickly.