Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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The optimal dose of i.m. ketamine for ED procedural sedation in children is not known. The authors wished to quantify the dose-response of ketamine with respect to sedation adequacy, time to discharge, and adverse effects in order to identify an optimal dose. ⋯ Ketamine doses of 4 to 5 mg/kg i.m. produced adequate sedation in 93%-100% of children, suggesting that this dosing range may be optimal for ED procedural sedation. No difference in time to discharge or adverse effects was observed for lower or higher doses.
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Emergency medical services (EMS) occupy a unique position in the continuum of emergency health care delivery. The role of EMS personnel is expanding beyond their traditional identity as out-of-hospital care providers, to include participation and active leadership in EMS administration, education, and research. With these roles come new challenges, as well as new responsibilities. This paper was developed by the SAEM EMS Task Force and provides a discussion of these new concepts as well as recommendations for the specialty of emergency medicine to foster the continued development of all of the potentials of EMS.
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Rapid-sequence intubation (RSI) is an active airway intervention used frequently in emergency medicine (EM). The authors hypothesized that RSI can be performed safely in the setting of an EM training program at a tertiary care center. ⋯ In the setting of an EM residency at a tertiary care ED, RSI can be performed successfully with few major immediate adverse events.
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Animal research has provided important information about many aspects of the pathophysiology of human disease. Well-performed animal studies can determine the potential benefit of many proposed therapeutic interventions, and experimental results from animal studies have served as the basis for many landmark clinical trials. Many animal research models are described in the research literature, and choosing the appropriate model to answer a research question can be a daunting task. ⋯ This article was prepared by members of the SAEM Research Committee to provide an overview of animal modeling. Important considerations in choosing, applying, and developing animal research models are outlined. Practical discussions of potential problems with animal models are also provided.