Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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While immediate diagnosis and irrigation is standard chemical eye burn practice, it is unknown to what extent specific pH measurements influence management, given the frequent clinical availability of narrow-spectrum nitrazine pH strips. We hypothesize that exclusive broad-spectrum pH strip implementation leads to more accurate measurement and expedited ophthalmologic consultation. ⋯ Exclusive non-obstetric implementation of broad-spectrum pH strips may allow greater accuracy and faster management of ocular chemical burns. Availability of narrow-spectrum pH strips may be dangerous clinically by falsely reassuring the examiner with inherent inaccuracy.
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Pediatric emergency care provision in the United States is uneven. Institutional barriers to readiness in the general emergency department (GED) are known, but little is understood about the frontline providers. Our objective was to explore the lived experiences of emergency medicine (EM) providers caring for acutely ill children in the GED and identify opportunities to optimize their pediatric practice. ⋯ General ED providers struggled with critically ill children because they could not anticipate their pediatric-specific knowledge gaps and only realized them at critical junctures. EM providers were isolated and frustrated when seeking help; without guidance and feedback they internalized their experience with uncertainty and were left underprepared for subsequent encounters. The data suggested the need for provider-focused interventions to address gaps in pediatric-specific continuing medical education, just-in-time assistance, and knowledge transfer.