J Emerg Med
-
Observational Study
Characteristics of Emergency Department "Doctor Shoppers"
There is a need to accurately identify patients at risk for drug abuse before giving a prescription for a scheduled medication. ⋯ There are multiple clinical characteristics associated with DS in this patient population.
-
The 2010 cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines increased the importance of external chest compression. However, the best hand position to be the compressing one has not been identified. ⋯ The dominant hand position during CPR was associated with a higher chest compression rate, a greater chest compression depth, and delayed fatigue.
-
Observational Study
Agreement Between Resident and Faculty Emergency Physicians in the Application of NEXUS Criteria for Suspected Cervical Spine Injuries.
The National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study (NEXUS) developed a decision rule for when cervical spine radiographs are required in the setting of trauma. To our knowledge, inter-rater reliability between resident and faculty emergency physicians has not been studied. ⋯ Based on our findings, there was considerable difference in agreement between staff physicians and residents. This could be due to the level of experience of the provider or the subjectiveness of components the criteria.
-
Although Emergency physicians frequently intubate patients, management of mechanical ventilation has not been emphasized in emergency medicine (EM) residency curricula. ⋯ EM residents report caring for mechanically ventilated patients frequently, but receive little education on mechanical ventilation. Furthermore, as residents' performance on the assessment tool is only correlated with their self-reported comfort with caring for ventilated patients, these results demonstrate an opportunity for increased educational focus on mechanical ventilation management in EM residency training.
-
Observational Study
The Contributions of Emergency Physicians to Out-of-hospital Cardiopulmonary Arrest: An Analysis of the National Utstein Registry Data.
Emergency physicians are likely to play an important role in the "chain of survival." The relationship between the number of emergency physicians and out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest (OHCA) prognosis is not well understood. ⋯ An increased number of emergency physicians/100,000 population is likely to be associated with improved outcomes.