European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines classify asthmatic exacerbations into mild, moderate, severe episodes and those with imminent respiratory arrest. We aimed to identify proportions of adult asthmatic patients in different subgroups with abnormal chest radiograph (CR) results and to explore predictors of them. ⋯ Abnormal CR results were infrequent in mild exacerbations and planned discharged patients. The female sex was the only predictor of an abnormal CR result.
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There is little information about which intimate partner violence (IPV) policies and services assist in the identification of IPV in the emergency department (ED). The objective of this study was to examine the association between a variety of resources and documented IPV diagnoses. ⋯ IPV remains a rare documented diagnosis. Most common hospital-level resources did not demonstrate an association with IPV diagnoses; however, a standardized intervention checklist may play a role in clinician's likelihood of diagnosing IPV.
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The objective of this study was to evaluate a training course on acute ischemic stroke (AIS) for hospital physicians, part of a regional strategy on AIS patient care. The course comprised an initial self-study (e-Learning) stage and 1-day theoretical-practical course on initial AIS management for Critical Care and Emergency physicians in the Andalusian Health Service (Spain). Data were collected on regional implementation of the stroke code and intravenous thrombolysis treatment. ⋯ The initial stage was failed by 46.4% of trainees; the 1-day AIS course was successfully completed by all trainees, who reported a high satisfaction level. By the end of 2009, all hospitals had adopted the stroke code and approximately 5-6% of patients with AIS received intravenous thrombolysis. This type of healthcare strategy proved effective to improve AIS care in our setting.
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Letter Case Reports
Dusting right under our nose: difluoroethane abuse in the emergency department.