Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Review Meta Analysis
Comparison of the Loop Technique with Incision and Drainage for Skin and Soft Tissue Abscesses: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Cutaneous abscesses are common presentations to the emergency department. While the primary treatment for most abscesses is conventional incision and drainage (CID), this is painful and can lead to multiple return visits. The loop drainage technique (LDT) has been proposed as an alternate, less-invasive approach to abscess management. The primary outcome of this study was to compare LDT with CID for skin and soft tissue abscesses. ⋯ The LDT was associated with reduced treatment failures when compared with CID. Future studies should further assess the impact on pain, cosmetic outcomes, and health care costs.
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Malnutrition is a potentially remediable condition that when untreated contributes to poor health and economic outcomes. While assessment of malnutrition risk is improving, its identification rate and economic burden in emergency departments (EDs) is largely unknown. We sought to determine prevalence and economic burden of diagnosed malnutrition among patients presenting to U.S. EDs. ⋯ While malnutrition is currently diagnosed at a low rate in U.S. EDs, the economic burden of malnutrition is substantial in this care setting. Given the potential for systematic malnutrition screening and treatment protocols to alleviate this burden, future research is warranted.