Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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The following is the keynote address to the First Emergency Medicine Conference in Vietnam, held in the historic city of Hue, March 22-26, 2010. This presentation reviewed the global history of emergency medicine (EM) and presented the need for the establishment of EM residency programs in Vietnam in a culturally sensitive manner. Immediately following this presentation, the Deputy Minister of Health for Vietnam announced recognition of EM as a specialty in Vietnam, and the establishment of EM residency programs, with the first starting October 1, 2010, in association with the Hue College of Medicine.
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Previous studies have demonstrated that ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is a useful marker for the diagnosis of ischemic events. This study aimed to determine the value of ischemia-modified plasma albumin in the early diagnosis of acute mesenteric ischemia in an experimental model. ⋯ Serum IMA values were not useful in the early diagnosis of acute mesenteric ischemia. Further studies to investigate ischemic and nonischemic conditions that affect IMA levels are needed.
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Comparative Study
Effect of two different FDA-approved D-dimer assays on resource utilization in the emergency department.
The D-dimer assay has been shown to be an appropriate test to rule out pulmonary embolism (PE) in low-risk patients in the emergency department (ED). Multiple assays now are approved to measure D-dimer levels. Studies have shown a newer assay, Tina-quant, to have similar diagnostic accuracy to the VIDAS assay. ⋯ Switching D-dimer assays reduced both LOS and number of imaging studies in our patient population.
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Early surface cooling of burns reduces pain and depth of injury and improves healing. However, there are concerns that cooling of large burns may result in hypothermia and worsen outcomes. In contrast, controlled mild hypothermia improves outcomes after cardiac arrest and traumatic brain injury. The authors hypothesized that controlled mild hypothermia would prolong survival in a rat model of large scald burns. ⋯ Induction of brief, mild hypothermia prolongs survival and increases the survival rate in nonresuscitated rats with large scald burns.