The American journal of emergency medicine
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Comparison of cardiac output measurements by thermodilution and thoracic electrical bioimpedance in critically ill versus non-critically ill patients.
Thoracic electrical bioimpedance (TEB) has been proposed as an alternative to thermodilution (TD) for the measurement of cardiac output in settings such as the Emergency Department where invasive monitoring is not available. Validation studies comparing TEB with TD suggest a wide range of variability in the agreement between the two methods. This prospective study tests the hypothesis that this variability may be related to the severity of patient illness. ⋯ The catheterization laboratory (cath lab) group bias was 0.23 +/- 2.19, whereas the MICU bias was .002 +/- 2.33. There was no significant difference in the bias between the two groups despite significant differences in the APACHE II scores. Standard deviations of the bias were less than 15% different from each other.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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To define the value of serial measurements of blood lactate levels after trauma, the present study investigated the correlation between blood lactate, mortality, and organ failure in 129 trauma patients, including 100 intensive care unit (ICU) survivors and 29 ICU fatalities. On admission, injury severity score (ISS) was higher and Glasgow coma score (GCS), revised trauma score (RTS), and trauma revised ISS (TRISS) were lower in the nonsurvivors than in the survivors. Serial arterial blood lactate levels were measured on admission and at least three times a day until normalization. ⋯ The data therefore indicate that not only the initial or the highest lactate value but also the duration of hyperlactatemia can be correlated with the development of organ failure. These observations stress the importance of the initial resuscitation in the prevention of organ failure. Serial blood lactate measurements are reliable indicators of morbidity and mortality after trauma.
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To develop a technique for needle cricothyrotomy that mimics the normal respiratory cycle (using repetitive obstruction of the upper airway and relatively low flow oxygen through small catheters), a controlled trial in three anesthetized dogs was performed. Oxygen from a standard bottle and pressure reducer was delivered through the cricothyroid membrane at 0.36 L/kg/min, which is metabolically equivalent to 0.2 L/kg/min in an adult human. The upper airway was obstructed until the chest rose and then was unobstructed to allow exhalation. ⋯ All PCO2 after 25 minutes were in the normal range. Ventilation at 0.18 L/kg/min stabilized the PCO2 at approximately 1.5 times normal (67 mm Hg versus 79 mm Hg for the preceding apnea, F = 77, P = .013). Flow rates achievable with 18- to 20-gauge catheters and standard oxygen sources are adequate for cricothyroid ventilation when the airway is repetitively obstructed to allow a normal respiratory cycle.
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Letter Case Reports
Spontaneous rectus sheath hematoma: ED diagnosis and management.
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Minorities have increased morbidity and mortality rates resulting from asthma. The segment of minorities that is socioeconomically depressed often uses the emergency department (ED) as their primary site of medical care. For these reasons, we provided major long-term therapeutic intervention as well as intensive education in the ED for indigent adult African American asthmatics. ⋯ Before our intervention, the mean number of ED visits per patient for the previous 2 years was 4.4 +/- 2.7, and after the intervention, 2.6 +/- 2.6 (P < .01). The control group did not show a difference in the number of ED visits (3.4 +/- 2.6 before and 3.5 +/- 2.7 after, P = .96). After the intervention, the mean number of hospitalizations decreased significantly in the study group (P < .01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)