Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Comparative Study Observational Study
Use of Butterfly Needles to Draw Blood Is Independently Associated With Marked Reduction in Hemolysis Compared to Intravenous Catheter.
Hemolysis of blood samples drawn in the emergency department (ED) is a common problem that can interfere with timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment. The objective of this study was to identify the smallest number of remediable factors that independently increases the risk of hemolysis to design an effective strategy to address this issue. ⋯ The device used to collect blood was the strongest independent predictor of hemolysis in blood samples drawn in the ED in this study. This finding suggests that the most effective strategy to reduce the rate of hemolysis in the ED is to use butterfly needles for phlebotomy rather than IV catheters.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
A Cost-effectiveness Analysis Comparing a Clinical Decision Rule Versus Usual Care to Risk Stratify Children for Intraabdominal Injury After Blunt Torso Trauma.
Modelling implementation of a clinical decision rule to identify children at very low risk of significant intra-abdominal injury after blunt trauma:
- Saved on average US$55 per child.
- Avoided a CT scan in 1 in 10 children.
- Missed 1 in 2,000 intra-abdominal injuries requiring acute intervention.
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Observational Study
ST2 in Emergency Department Patients With Noncardiac Dyspnea.
Serum levels of soluble ST2, a member of the interleukin-1 receptor family, predict mortality in emergency department (ED) patients with dyspnea secondary to acute heart failure and acute coronary syndrome. Elevated levels of ST2 have also been described in pulmonary disease, but it is unclear if these are associated with adverse outcomes. The hypothesis for this study was that elevated ST2 levels would be associated with 180-day mortality and 180-day return ED visits or hospital readmission in patients presenting to the ED with noncardiac causes of dyspnea. ⋯ Patients with noncardiac dyspnea who died or required readmission to the hospital within 180 days had higher levels of ST2 compared with nonadmitted survivors. Further research into ST2 as a prognostic tool in pathologic processes not involving the heart, such as pulmonary disease, is warranted.
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Ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests is a critical part of emergency medicine (EM). In evaluating a study of diagnostic test accuracy, emergency physicians (EPs) need to recognize whether the study uses case-control or cross-sectional sampling and account for common biases. ⋯ The authors go beyond identifying a bias and predict the direction of its effect on sensitivity and specificity, providing numerical examples from published test accuracy studies. Understanding the direction of a bias may permit useful inferences from even a flawed study of test accuracy.
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Providing patient care and medical education are both important missions of teaching hospital emergency departments (EDs). With medical school enrollment rising, and ED crowding becoming an increasing prevalent issue, it is important for both pediatric EDs (PEDs) and general EDs to find a balance between these two potentially competing goals. ⋯ The results of this study demonstrate that trainees in PEDs have an impact mainly on patient LOS and that the effect on wait time differs between patients presenting with varying degrees of acuity. These findings will assist PEDs in finding a balance between providing high-quality medical education and timely patient care.