The American journal of emergency medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Comparison of Vie Scope® and Macintosh laryngoscopes for intubation during resuscitation by paramedics wearing personal protective equipment.
Endotracheal intubation (ETI) is still the gold standard of airway management, but in cases of sudden cardiac arrest in patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection, ETI is associated with risks for both the patient and the medical personnel. We hypothesized that the Vie Scope® is more useful for endotracheal intubation of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cardiac arrest patients than the conventional laryngoscope with Macintosh blade when operators are wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). ⋯ The use of the Vie Scope® laryngoscope in OHCA patients improved the first attempt success rate, and reduced intubation time compared to Macintosh laryngoscope in paramedics wearing PPE for against aerosol generating procedures.
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Review Case Reports
Treatment of valproic acid overdose with meropenem in an epileptic patient: A case report and literature review.
Valproic acid (VPA) and derivatives are effective anticonvulsants that are also used for numerous mood disorders. VPA toxicity can cause central nervous system (CNS) depression, dose related hyperammonemia, and eventually hepatotoxicity. ⋯ This case describes a 38 year-old female with a past medical history of epilepsy effectively treated with meropenem to rapidly and safely lower toxic VPA levels after an acute ingestion. A review of four VPA poisoning case reports and the interaction with carbapenem class antibiotics is also included.
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Spinal epidural abscess (SEA) is a rare but serious condition that carries with it a high rate of morbidity and mortality. ⋯ An understanding of SEA can assist emergency clinicians in diagnosing and managing this potentially deadly disease.
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Case Reports
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on workplace violence at an academic emergency department.
COVID-19 brought unique challenges; however, it remains unclear what effect the pandemic had on violence in healthcare. The objective of this study was to identify the impact of the pandemic on workplace violence at an academic emergency department (ED). ⋯ Incidents of workplace violence at our ED increased during the pandemic and there was a positive association of these incidents with the COVID-19 case rate. Our findings indicate health systems should prioritize employee safety during future pandemics.
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Bacteremia is a common but critical condition with high mortality that requires timely and optimal treatment in the emergency department (ED). The prediction of bacteremia at the ED during triage and disposition stages could support the clinical decisions of ED physicians regarding the appropriate treatment course and safe ED disposition. This study developed and validated machine learning models to predict bacteremia in the emergency department during triage and disposition stages. ⋯ The Triage XGB model could be used to identify patients with a low risk of bacteremia immediately after initial ED triage. The Disposition XGB model showed excellent discriminative performance.