Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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To determine trends in the numbers of drive-by shootings, individuals shot at, innocent bystanders shot at, and homicides by drive-by shootings in the city of Los Angeles from 1989 to 1993. ⋯ Drive-by shootings are a major public health problem in Los Angeles. While the rate of drive-by shootings decreased in 1992 and 1993, the proportion of fatal cases increased. To prevent drive-by shootings, the root causes of violent street gang formation must be addressed.
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To review the types of injuries due to law enforcement (K-9) dog bites and address related management issues. ⋯ Attention to potential deep injuries of nerves, vessels, and the musculoskeletal system is essential with law enforcement dog bites. Injuries associated both with pursuit and arrest and with the bites themselves must be identified and assessed. Guidelines for the ED treatment of patients with law enforcement dog bite injuries are proposed.
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Multicenter Study
Community-wide emergency department visits by patients suspected of drug-seeking behavior.
To measure community-wide ED use by patients at high risk for drug-seeking behavior. ⋯ Patients identified as being at high risk for drug-seeking behavior have high community-wide ED visit rates. Improving communication between and within hospitals may help identify patients who could benefit from more consistent community-wide care and appropriate treatment for addiction.
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Comparative Study
The emergency department electrocardiogram and hospital complications in myocardial infarction patients.
To determine whether acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients who have negative ECGs on presentation have significantly lower complication rates than do those AMI patients who have positive ECGs on presentation. ⋯ Negative- and positive-ECG AMI patients do not have moderate or large differences in the rates of in-hospital complications. Most negative-ECG patients who suffer complications evolve ECG changes prior to the event and such changes indicate the potential need for a higher level of care.