The American journal of emergency medicine
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Diabetic ketoacidosis is an endocrine emergency. A subset of diabetic patients may present with relative euglycemia with acidosis, known as euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis (EDKA), which is often misdiagnosed due to a serum glucose <250 mg/dL. ⋯ Clinician knowledge of this condition can improve the evaluation and management of patients with EDKA.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A randomized cohort study of the efficacy of PO magnesium in the treatment of acute concussions in adolescents.
Concussions are becoming a growing concern in society today with one out of every five adolescents being affected. This accounts for 1.6 to 3.8 million emergency department visits annually. The current standard of care involves an initial period of mental rest with symptomatic care and symptom-based return to daily activities/sports. High dose IV magnesium has been proven to be neuroprotective in severe TBI. We hypothesized that oral magnesium replacement following a concussion will decrease the overall symptomatic period allowing a quicker return to functional baseline. ⋯ Oral magnesium replacement decreases symptoms acutely following a concussion and should be provided with symptomatic management following a concussion in the emergency setting.
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Penile fracture arises as a result of a unilateral or bilateral rupture of the tunica albuginea of the corpus cavernosum. It is a rare condition that requires urgent surgical intervention. In this study, we aimed to determine the effectiveness of surgical treatment in penile fracture and its effect on complications. ⋯ Penile fracture is a urological emergency, and timely surgery is an effective treatment method for preventing postoperative complications.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Virtual reality distraction during pediatric intravenous line placement in the emergency department: A prospective randomized comparison study.
To evaluate the efficacy of virtual reality distraction (VR) during intravenous line (IV) placement in a pediatric emergency department to increase first-attempt IV success. Secondary endpoints included median time to successful IV placement, patient pain and anxiety scores, and an evaluation of characteristics of patients in whom VR is well tolerated. ⋯ VR distraction for IV placement in the Pediatric Emergency Department shows similar efficacy to standard distraction techniques and appears to be well tolerated.
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Although guidelines recommend specific benzodiazepine doses for the treatment of generalized convulsive status epilepticus (GCSE), underdosing appears to be common. The purpose of this investigation was to assess benzodiazepine dosing strategies for the initial management of GCSE in patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED). ⋯ According to guideline recommendations, there was consistent underdosing of benzodiazepines noted in both prehospital and ED settings. Early seizure cessation and the early receipt of an antiepileptic drug were found to be associated with multiple significant clinical outcomes. Future investigations should explore optimal dosing strategies for benzodiazepines as well as the impact of early antiepileptic drug administration.