The American journal of emergency medicine
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Pain is a common complaint precipitating emergency department (ED) visit, occurring in more than half of patient encounters. While opioids are effective for acute pain management in the Emergency Department (ED), the associated adverse effects, including respiratory and central nervous system depression, nausea, vomiting, and constipation, and physical manifestations of use, including tolerance, dependence and misuse leading to overdose and death, accentuate the need for non-opioid alternatives and/or multi-modal pain control. This review will provide examples of non-opioid pain management strategies and multimodal regimens for treatment of acute pain in the ED.
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Acute chest syndrome (ACS) in sickle cell disease (SCD) is a serious condition that carries with it a high rate of morbidity and mortality. ⋯ An understanding of ACS can assist emergency clinicians in diagnosing and managing this potentially deadly disease.
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Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in millions of cases worldwide. As the pandemic has progressed, the understanding of this disease has evolved. ⋯ This review presents a concise update of the resuscitation strategies and airway management techniques in patients with COVID-19 for emergency medicine clinicians.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Kinesiotaping in the emergency department: The effect of kinesiotaping on acute pain due to uncomplicated traumatic injury of the shoulder or chest wall. A pilot study.
Traumatic injuries of the shoulder or chest wall are commonly treated in the Emergency Department (ED). A complementary treatment is kinesiotaping, an elastic tape often used to treat musculoskeletal dysfunction and pain. However, the added pain-reducing effect of kinesiotape in comparison to standard conservative treatment is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of kinesiotaping on pain relief compared to standard treatment with pain medication and immobilization in patients with uncomplicated traumatic injury of the shoulder or chest wall in the ED. ⋯ Compared to standard treatment alone, kinesiotaping combined with standard care appears to be more effective in terms of acute pain reduction in patients with uncomplicated traumatic injury of the shoulder or chest wall. Further research is recommended.
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It is well documented that disparities in patient care based on race and ethnicity are prevalent in the emergency medical care setting. In most cases these evaluations are patient focused and outcome based. The timeliness of patient treatment in the emergency department (ED) is correlated with patient outcomes. In this study, we sought to evaluate whether the timeliness of care for patients with chest pain across stages of care was impacted by patient race. ⋯ Black patients have longer wait times for resident physician evaluation, advanced practice provider evaluation, attending physician evaluation, and ED disposition when presenting to the ED with chest pain.