Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Comparative Study
Reappraisal of criteria used to predict serious bacterial illness in febrile infants less than 8 weeks of age.
To re-evaluate the Philadelphia protocol and the Rochester criteria for identifying infants at low risk for serious bacterial illness (SBI) in a new population. ⋯ The Philadelphia protocol and the Rochester criteria maintained their previously reported NPVs when applied to a new population of febrile infants. These data illustrate the usefulness of retesting clinical decision rules in new populations prior to their universal acceptance.
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Editorial Historical Article
Changing times, changing opinions: history informing the family presence debate.
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To evaluate the evidence for interventions designed to improve outcomes for elders discharged from the emergency department (ED). ⋯ A significant number of programs to improve outcomes for elders discharged from the ED exist, but few have been systematically examined. Development of interventions to improve the care of elder patients following ED visits requires further research into system and patient-centered factors that impact health care delivery in this situation.
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Comparative Study
The contribution of the subjective component of the Canadian Pulmonary Embolism Score to the overall score in emergency department patients.
Clinicians frequently use their experience to determine the pretest probability of pulmonary embolism (PE), although scoring systems are promoted as being more reliable. The Canadian Pulmonary Embolism Score (CPES) combines six objective questions and one subjective question. The CPES has been validated and appears to be useful for risk-stratifying patients. However, research suggests that subjective gestalt performs similarly to the CPES, and the influence of the subjective question on the predictive value of the CPES is not clear. ⋯ The predictive value of the CPES appears to be derived primarily from its subjective component.