Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Does topical lidocaine attenuate the pain of infiltration of buffered lidocaine?
To determine whether topical lidocaine attenuates the pain of buffered lidocaine infiltration. ⋯ Topical 2% lidocaine does not attenuate the pain of infiltration of buffered lidocaine more than does topical normal saline. Investigation of other topical anesthetics with and without epinephrine in conjunction with buffered lidocaine is warranted.
-
Comparative Study
Effect of gender on the emergency department evaluation of patients with chest pain.
To assess chest pain evaluation as reflected in the documentation of the evaluation process for women vs men in one emergency department (ED). ⋯ The authors' findings do not support the existence of a gender difference in ED chest pain evaluations, as reflected by documentation of the evaluation process. However, men were more likely to be admitted to the hospital for evaluation of coronary artery disease than were women.
-
To describe cases of violence related to weapons in a university hospital and urban county ED and to provide related recommendations for ED staff security. ⋯ Emergency department staff should prepare for the possibility of violence by 1) recognizing the danger, 2) rehearsing response mechanisms, and 3) debriefing after incidents. In particular, plans must be made and practiced for the time when external violence follows the surviving victims of gang activity through the "sacrosanct" hospital doors. Protection of patients and ED personnel must be ensured. In many urban settings, appropriately armed security guards must be immediately accessible to the ED staff. Other suggestions for ED protection are given.
-
The number of hours worked by residents in all specialties has become a controversial issue. Residents often are expected to competently conduct patient care activities and to take educational advantage of clinical experiences in spite of frequent fatigue and sleep deprivation. This survey of residency directors was designed to assess the scheduled clinical time for emergency medicine (EM) residents. ⋯ Emergency medicine resident schedules, as reported by residency directors, fall well within current specialty-specific requirements and compare favorably with the reported numbers for other specialties. However, because large ranges in scheduling parameters were reported, the data may be of value to residency directors, residents, and prospective residents. Most programs did not report a predictable schedule progression of shifts.
-
To determine the occurrence of weapon carriage by major trauma patients at a university/county hospital ED. ⋯ ED major trauma patients at one urban trauma center in Los Angeles frequently carry weapons, including automatic military weapons. In addition to violence prevention measures such as weapon confiscation, plans must be made and practiced for the management of violence within the "sacrosanct" hospital doors to protect both patients and ED personnel.