J Emerg Med
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Emergency Department (ED) crowding and inpatient boarding lead to lengthy wait times for patients, which may cause them to choose to leave without being seen. A new initiative to improve communication with patients is to provide an estimated wait time with a "time tracker" display, but it is unclear whether ED patients would welcome this. ⋯ The majority of patients in our study preferred an ED with a time tracker display (63% for vs. 21% against). Support for a time tracker was higher among patients triaged with lower ESI levels (4 or 5). A time tracker is viewed positively by many patients and may be a beneficial addition in the ED waiting room.
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It has been estimated that up to one-quarter of spinal cord injuries may be significantly worsened during extrication or early treatment after a motor vehicle accident. ⋯ In this study, no decrease in neck movement occurred for certain extrication events that included protection and assistance by the paramedics. Future work should further investigate this finding.
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Case Reports
Small bowel obstruction from potato and broccoli phytobezoar mimicking mesenteric ischemia.
Bezoars are concretions of undigested foreign material that form in the gastrointestinal tract. Rare in humans, they are nonetheless a well-documented cause of intraluminal bowel obstruction. ⋯ Although rare in humans, bezoars are a documented cause of small bowel obstruction, and should be considered when intraluminal bowel obstruction occurs. Bezoars causing small bowel obstruction require surgical treatment.