J Emerg Med
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Review Meta Analysis
A Meta-Analysis of the Reliability of the History in Suspected Poisoning.
Management of acute poisoning depends on the reliability of history of the poisoning event. ⋯ A history of paracetamol ingestion is moderately reliable, and further evaluation is required to make a clinical diagnosis of acute poisoning with street drugs.
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Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common presentation in the emergency department (ED). Severity of pancreatitis is an important consideration for ED clinicians making admission judgments. Validated scoring systems can be a helpful tool in this process. ⋯ Rapid, reliable, and validated means of predicting patient outcome from rapid clinical assessment are of value to the emergency physician. Scoring systems such as BISAP, HAPS, and single-variable predictors may assist in decision-making due to their simplicity of use and applicability within the first 24 h.
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Pulmonary embolism (PE) can be fatal, but profligate testing for PE can harm patients. ⋯ Understanding of risk factors, historical data, and physical findings that have been found to increase or decrease the probability of PE in symptomatic ED patients can help create rational guidelines for the diagnostic approach to PE.