J Emerg Med
-
The objective of this study was to determine whether patients discharged from the Emergency Department (ED) with a proven diagnosis of renal colic require less total evaluation and treatment time if unenhanced helical computed tomography (CT) rather than intravenous urography (IVU) was the diagnostic imaging study used. A retrospective review was undertaken of the medical records of 98 consecutive patients with a final diagnosis of urolithiasis or renal colic evaluated with an unenhanced helical CT scan or an IVU between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 1999. All patients were managed by Emergency Physicians and discharged from the ED. ⋯ Patients who underwent unenhanced helical CT scan were in the ED for a mean time of 291 min [95% confidence interval (CI) 266-316] and those who had an IVU were in the ED for an average of 410 min (95% CI 340-481). Use of unenhanced helical CT scan was associated with less total time in the ED compared to IVU for patients with renal colic by a significant mean of 119 min. It is concluded that ED evaluation and treatment time of patients ultimately discharged with a proven diagnosis of renal colic is significantly less when evaluated with unenhanced helical CT scan compared to IVU.
-
The objective of this study was to evaluate pre-hospital triage of patients with an isolated brief loss of consciousness (LOC) to a regional trauma center (RTC). Data from a 6-month period were retrospectively reviewed from an existing pre-hospital data collection set. Patients were included if either they or a witness claimed a LOC, but they had regained consciousness to at least a Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) > 13 by the time the paramedics arrived. ⋯ In the non-vehicular trauma group, only one (0.3%) had surgery in < 6 h, eight (2.1%) had a positive CT scan, six (1.6%) were admitted to a surgical ICU or had a LOS > 3 days. Overall, 19 (2.9%, CI 0.018-0.045) patients met any one of the end-point criteria for trauma center utilization; however, only one patient (0.2% CI < 0.0001-0.008) required immediate neurosurgical intervention. Transient LOC, in the absence of any other American College of Surgeons (ACS) trauma triage criteria, triaged 97% of patients to a trauma center, who did not require trauma center services based on our criteria.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Benzyl alcohol with epinephrine as an alternative to lidocaine with epinephrine.
A randomized, prospective, double-blind study comparing benzyl alcohol with epinephrine, 1:100,000 (BA), and lidocaine with epinephrine, 1:100,000 (LID), as local anesthetics was carried out on adult patients with simple lacerations. The two study groups were compared for pain of infiltration (100 mm visual analog scale) and need for additional anesthesia. Pain scores were compared by a Mann Whitney Independent Rank Sum test and need for additional anesthesia by a Fishers Exact test. ⋯ The median pain score for BA, 7.5 mm, was less than for LID, 19.5 mm (p = 0.049). Although more patients receiving BA required additional anesthesia as compared to LID (8/26 versus 2/26), this difference did not reach statistical significance. BA is a reasonable alternative local anesthetic to LID for patients who are allergic to LID.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Home administration of charcoal: can mothers administer a therapeutic dose?
This study evaluated whether children under 3 years of age would drink a therapeutic dose of activated charcoal (AC) in a simulated home environment. Children 13 to 35 months participated with their mothers. Children were randomly assigned to receive AC mixed with regular cola or with diet cola. ⋯ The potential for failure of home AC administration needs to be considered when making the decision to recommend home stocking of AC. Mixing AC with cola does not ensure successful administration. Diet cola does not appear to be an alternative.