Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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To determine whether the provision of advanced life support (ALS) field care has any impact on patient outcome in the urban Canadian environment. ⋯ There was no beneficial impact on the measured patient outcomes found in association with the provision of ALS vs BLS field care in Metropolitan Toronto for patients who were brought to a nontrauma center.
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End-tidal carbon dioxide (PetCO2) monitoring is becoming more common in both the ED and the out-of-hospital setting. Its main use has been as an aid when confirming endotracheal intubation. ⋯ In addition, future uses may include using PetCO2 as an adjunct when monitoring the status of asthma treatment, when making the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, and when measuring cardiac output noninvasively. This article reviews these specific uses of PetCO2 monitoring in emergency medicine.
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Comparative Study
Intravenous vs subcutaneous naloxone for out-of-hospital management of presumed opioid overdose.
To determine whether naloxone administered i.v. to out-of-hospital patients with suspected opioid overdose would have a more rapid therapeutic onset than naloxone given subcutaneously (s.q.). ⋯ There was no clinical difference in the time interval to respiratory rate > or =10 breaths/min between naloxone 0.8 mg s.q. and naloxone 0.4 mg i.v. for the out-of-hospital management of patients with suspected opioid overdose. The slower rate of absorption via the s.q. route was offset by the delay in establishing an i.v.