Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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To determine whether the initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score is predictive of intubation difficulty in out-of-hospital airway management of poisoned patients. ⋯ Maximum difficulty of intubation is encountered in poisoned patients with 7 < or = GCS < or = 9. Intubation of such patients appears to be facilitated by appropriate sedation and/or neuromuscular blockade.
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This article provides information supporting the need for new outcome measures in emergency care. It also addresses the use of these measures in emergency care, the impact of emergency care, identification of at-risk groups, new approaches to measuring patient satisfaction, quality of life, and cost-effectiveness, and the related unique implications for emergency medicine.
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Previous studies have shown that contacting an on-line medical-control physician increases the transport rate of patients who attempt to refuse medical assistance. The authors studied the physician-patient interaction to determine the type of interaction that was more likely to result in patient transport. ⋯ Contact with a medical-control physician appears to markedly improve the transport rate for patients who initially attempt to refuse out-of-hospital medical care. This is especially so when physicians are more assertive in recommending transport.
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To review all ladder fall injuries seen in a community ED and to identify patterns of injury, factors that contribute to falls, and what pre-event and event factors could have reduced the likelihood of a fall or a resulting injury. ⋯ Falls from ladders, both in the occupational and nonoccupational settings, often result in significant injury. Simple safety measures may have prevented the majority of falls in this study. Public health efforts should emphasize education on safe ladder practices and techniques to reduce the possibility of injury in the event of a fall.