Can J Emerg Med
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Review Meta Analysis
The role of adjunctive antibiotics in the treatment of skin and soft tissue abscesses: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
To perform a review and meta-analysis on the effect of antibiotics on treatment of skin and soft tissue abscesses (SSTAs) after incision and drainage. ⋯ Despite limitations in pooling available data, there is no clear evidence to support antibiotic use in treating uncomplicated SSTAs.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Accuracy of physician-estimated probability of brain injury in children with minor head trauma.
To evaluate the accuracy of physician estimates of the probability of intracranial injury in children with minor head trauma. ⋯ Physician estimates of probability of any brain injury in children were collectively accurate for children with low and moderate degrees of predicted risk. Risk was underestimated in infants.
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Goals for this study were to characterize the substances being used by youth who presented to an emergency department (ED), their demographic descriptors, and to describe the associated acute morbidity and mortality. ⋯ Youth who presented to the ED for substance use represented a socially vulnerable population whose use of recreational substances resulted in high medical acuity and significant morbidity. Improved clinical identification of such high-risk youth and subsequent design of interventions to address problematic substance use and social issues are urgently needed to complement the acute medical care that youth receive.
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Observational Study
Predictive value of the usual clinical signs and laboratory tests in the diagnosis of septic arthritis.
To determine the sensitivity and specificity of clinical and laboratory signs for the diagnosis of septic arthritis (SA). Patients and methods This prospective study included all adult patients with suspected SA seen in the emergency department or rheumatology department at the University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand, France, over a period of 18 months. ⋯ No clinical sign or laboratory test (excluding bacteriological test), taken alone, is conclusive for the differentiation between SA and non-SA, but the association of several signs, notably chills, history of crystal-induced arthritis, radiological findings, and the appearance and cellularity of joint fluid may be suggestive.
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Collaborative writing applications (CWAs), such as the Google DocsTM platform, can improve skill acquisition, knowledge retention, and collaboration in medical education. Using CWAs to support the training of residents offers many advantages, but stimulating them to contribute remains challenging. The purpose of this study was to identify emergency medicine (EM) residents' beliefs about their intention to contribute summaries of landmark articles to a Google DocsTM slideshow while studying for their Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) certification exam. ⋯ Salient beliefs exist regarding EM residents' intention to contribute content to an online collaborative writing project using a Google DocsTM slideshow. Overall, participants perceived more advantages than disadvantages to contributing and believed that this initiative would receive wide support. However, participants reported several barriers that need to be addressed to increase contributions. Our intention is for the beliefs identified in this study to contribute to the design of a theory-based questionnaire to explore determinants of residents' intentions to contribute to an online collaborative writing project. This will help develop implementation strategies for increasing contributions to other CWAs in medical education.