Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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The annual incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA) in the United States is approximately 6 per 10,000 population and survival remains low. Relatively little is known about the performance characteristics of a two-tiered emergency medical services (EMS) system split between fire-based basic life support (BLS) dispersed from fixed locations and hospital-based advanced life support (ALS) dispersed from nonfixed locations. The objectives of this study were to describe the incidence of OOHCA in Denver, Colorado, and to define the prevalence of survival with good neurologic function in the context of this particular EMS system. ⋯ Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival in Denver, Colorado, is similar to that of other United States communities. This finding provides the basis for future epidemiologic and health services research in the out-of-hospital and ED settings in our community.
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Pulmonary artery catheterization poses significant risks and requires specialized training. Technological advances allow for more readily available, noninvasive clinical measurements of hemodynamics. Few studies exist that assess the efficacy of noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring in sepsis patients. The authors hypothesized that cardiac index, as measured noninvasively by impedance cardiography (ICG) in emergency department (ED) patients undergoing early goal-directed therapy (EGDT) for sepsis, would be associated with in-hospital mortality. ⋯ Early, noninvasive measurement of the cardiac index in critically ill severe sepsis and septic shock patients can be performed in the ED for those who meet criteria for EGDT. There appears to be an association between an initial lower cardiac index as measured noninvasively and in-hospital mortality.
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Comparative Study
Effect of an electronic control device exposure on a methamphetamine-intoxicated animal model.
Because of the prevalence of methamphetamine abuse worldwide, it is not uncommon for subjects in law enforcement encounters to be methamphetamine-intoxicated. Methamphetamine has been present in arrest-related death cases in which an electronic control device (ECD) was used. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the cardiac effects of an ECD in a methamphetamine intoxication model. ⋯ In smaller animals (32 kg or less), ECD exposure exacerbated atrial and ventricular irritability induced by methamphetamine intoxication, but this effect was not seen in larger, adult-sized animals. There were no episodes of ventricular fibrillation after exposure associated with ECD exposure in methamphetamine-intoxicated sheep.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Prospective multicenter study of bronchiolitis: predictors of an unscheduled visit after discharge from the emergency department.
There is little evidence about which children with bronchiolitis will have worsened disease after discharge from the emergency department (ED). The objective of this study was to determine predictors of post-ED unscheduled visits. ⋯ In this study of children age younger than 2 years with bronchiolitis, one of six children had unscheduled visits within 2 weeks of ED discharge. The three predictors of unscheduled visits were age under 2 months, male sex, and previous hospitalization.