Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
-
Multicenter Study
Observation Unit Use Among Patients with Cancer Following Emergency Department Visits: Results of a Multicenter Prospective Cohort from CONCERN.
Emergency department (ED) visits by patients with cancer frequently end in hospitalization. As concerns about ED and hospital crowding increase, observation unit care may be an important strategy to deliver safe and efficient treatment for eligible patients. In this investigation, we compared the prevalence and clinical characteristics of cancer patients who received observation unit care with those who were admitted to the hospital from the ED. ⋯ In this multicenter prospective cohort study, the discrepancy between observation unit care use and short inpatient hospitalization may represent underutilization of this resource and a target for process change.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Ketamine Administration for Acute Painful Sickle Cell Crisis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
The objective was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of single-dose ketamine infusion in adults with sickle cell disease (SCD) who presented with acute sickle vasoocclusive crisis (VOC). ⋯ Early use of ketamine in adults with VOC resulted in a meaningful reduction in pain scores over a 2-h period and reduced the cumulative morphine dose in the ED with no significant drug-related side effects in the ketamine-treated group.
-
The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Board of Directors convened a task force to elucidate the current state of workforce, operational, and educational issues being faced by academic medical centers related to advanced practice providers (APPs). The task force surveyed academic emergency department (ED) chairs and residency program directors (PDs). ⋯ APPs are ubiquitous across academic EDs. Future research is required for academic ED leaders to balance physician and APP deployment across the academic ED within the context of patient care, resident education, institutional resources, professional development opportunities for APP staff, and standardization of APP EM training.