The American journal of emergency medicine
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The objective of this study was to determine the healthcare resource utilization for people living with HIV (PLWH) presenting to the emergency department (ED) across the HIV Care Continuum. ⋯ Our results showed that PLWH use more ED resources than the general population and a better engagement in HIV care is linked to lesser ED resource utilization for PLWH, indicating the importance of improved HIV care engagement in healthcare utilization management.
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Multicenter Study
Effect of COVID19 on prehospital pronouncements and ED visits for stroke and myocardial infarction.
The Novel Coronavirus19 (COVID19) arrived in northern New Jersey (NJ) in early March 2020, peaked at the beginning of April, and then declined. Starting in March, some patients who called 911 and required advanced life support (ALS) may have decompensated more rapidly than would have been expected, possibly because of concomitant COVID19 infection and/or delays in seeking medical care because of fear of exposure to the virus, and social isolation. In this study, our goal was to determine if there was an increase in prehospital ALS pronouncements and a decrease in ED visits for potentially serious conditions such as MI and stroke during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in northern NJ. ⋯ Following the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in northern NJ, we found pre-hospital ALS death pronouncements increased and ED visits for MI and stroke decreased. Although we have speculated about the reasons for these findings, further studies are needed to determine what the actual causes were.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Risk factors associated with intracranial bleeding and neurosurgery in patients with mild traumatic brain injury who are receiving direct oral anticoagulants.
The established clinical risk factors for post-traumatic intracranial bleeding have not been evaluated in patients receiving DOACs yet. ⋯ Clinical risk factors can be used in DOACs patients to better define the risk of post-traumatic ICH.
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Comparative Study
Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation versus endotracheal intubation in treatment of COVID-19 patients requiring ventilatory support.
Initial guidelines recommended prompt endotracheal intubation rather than non-invasive ventilation (NIV) for COVID-19 patients requiring ventilator support. There is insufficient data comparing the impact of intubation versus NIV on patient-centered outcomes of these patients. ⋯ Utilization of NIV as the initial intervention in COVID-19 patients requiring ventilatory support is associated with significant survival benefit. For patients intubated after NIV, the mortality rate is not worse than those who undergo intubation as their initial intervention.