Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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The diagnostic performance of transthoracic focused cardiac ultrasound (FoCUS) performed by emergency physicians (EP) to estimate ascending aorta dimensions in the acute setting has not been prospectively studied. The diagnostic accuracy and the interobserver variability of EP-performed FoCUS were investigated to estimate thoracic aortic dilation and aneurysm compared with the results of computed tomography angiography (CTA). ⋯ FoCUS performed by EP is specific for ascending aorta dilation and aneurysm when compared to CTA and appears a reproducible technique.
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Extraglottic airway devices (EADs) are now commonly placed for airway management of critically ill or injured patients, particularly by emergency medical services providers in the out-of-hospital setting. Recent literature has suggested that EADs may cause decreased cerebral blood flow due to compression of the arteries of the neck by the devices' inflated cuffs. ⋯ Until further studies are performed in which cerebral perfusion is evaluated prospectively in both hemodynamically stable and unstable human subjects, there is insufficicent evidence to recommend against the use of extraglottic airways in the emergency setting on the basis of carotid artery compression.
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Ebola virus disease (EVD) has been the subject of recent attention due to the current outbreak in West Africa, as well as the appearance of a number of cases within the United States. The presence of EVD patients in the United States required health care systems to prepare for the identification and management of both patients under investigation and patients with confirmed EVD infection. This article discusses the development and use of a mobile containment unit in an extended treatment area as a novel approach to isolation and screening of potential EVD patients.
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Emergency physician (EP)-performed focused cardiac ultrasound (EP FOCUS) has been increasingly recognized as a crucial tool to help clinicians diagnose and treat potentially life-threatening conditions. The existing literature demonstrates a variety of EP FOCUS applications and protocols; however, EP FOCUS is not taught, practiced, or interpreted consistently between institutions. ⋯ Each of these assessments has been well described in the emergency medicine literature and is within the scope of EP-performed echocardiography. This approach provides a reliable and easily recalled framework for assessing, teaching, and communicating EP FOCUS findings that are essential in caring for the patient in the emergency setting.
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The objective was to analyze the cardiac arrest rhythms presenting during asphyxial cardiac arrest (ACA). ⋯ The most common rhythm after 4 minutes of untreated ACA was VF, while in 57% of animals, PEA was spontaneously converted to VF during the cardiac arrest interval.