Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Long-term follow-up after voluntary human immunodeficiency virus/sexually transmitted infection counseling, point-of-service testing, and referral to substance abuse treatment from the emergency department.
Public health initiatives have lowered human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission risk associated with injection drug use in the United States, making sexual risk behaviors a greater source of transmission. Strategies are therefore needed to reduce these risk behaviors among all emergency department (ED) patients who use drugs, regardless of route of administration. Although recent articles have focused on the opportunity for early HIV detection and treatment through an array of ED screening and testing strategies, the effect of voluntary HIV testing and brief counseling (VT/C) on the sexual behaviors of out-of-treatment drug users over time has not yet been reported. ⋯ Voluntary testing and counseling for HIV or sexually transmitted infections, accompanied by referral to drug treatment, for this population of ED cocaine and heroin users was associated with reduction in unprotected sex acts and fewer sex acts while high.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Efficacy of patient-controlled analgesia for patients with acute abdominal pain in the emergency department: a randomized trial.
The objective was to assess the efficacy of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) in the emergency department (ED) and to compare two PCA dosing regimens. ⋯ This study provides support for efficacy of PCA when applied to the ED setting. Future studies designed to assess implementation of this modality in the context of conditions of actual ED staffing and competing patient demands are warranted.