The American journal of emergency medicine
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Acts of violence occurring in the healthcare setting that involve weapons result in significant morbidity and mortality. New passive weapons screening technology (PWST) offers a potential protective measure. Our objective was to quantify the volume of weapons detected and deterred from our emergency department (ED) over a 12-month period and determine whether it led to weapon-carrier hostility towards frontline staff. ⋯ We found a concerning rate of attempts to bring weapons into our ED. This does not include weapons which may be entering the ED undetected via patients transported by emergency medical services (EMS) or on persons entering through other hospital entrances. Security perception was that most weapon-carriers were not upset with this intervention.
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This study aimed to determine whether myocardial infarction (MI) could be safely diagnosed or excluded within 30 min instead of 1 h. ⋯ The 0-h/30-min algorithm is as effective as the 0-h/1-h algorithm in safely ruling out MI and may offer improved diagnostic efficiency in ruling in MI.
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Several life-threatening conditions associated with thrombosis include acute ischemic stroke (AIS), acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Fibrinolytics are among the treatment algorithms for these conditions. ⋯ An understanding of fibrinolytics in the ED setting is essential, including the indications, contraindications, and dosing.
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Large language models (LLMs) have grown in popularity in recent months and have demonstrated advanced clinical reasoning ability. Given the need to prioritize the sickest patients requesting emergency medical services (EMS), we attempted to identify if an LLM could accurately triage ambulance requests using real-world data from a major metropolitan area. ⋯ Our preliminary analysis indicates LLMs may have the potential to become a useful tool for triage and resource allocation in emergency care settings, especially in cases where there is consensus among subject matter experts. Further research is needed to better understand and clarify how they may best be of service.