J Emerg Med
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Safety and Efficacy of the "Easy Internal Jugular (IJ)": An Approach to Difficult Intravenous Access.
The easy internal jugular (Easy IJ) technique involves placement of a single-lumen catheter in the internal jugular vein using ultrasound guidance. This technique is used in patients who do not have suitable peripheral or external jugular venous access. The efficacy and safety of this procedure are unknown. ⋯ The Easy IJ was inserted successfully in 88% of cases, with a mean time of 4.4 min. Loss of patency, the only complication, occurred in 14% of cases.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
A Novel Tool for Assessment of Emergency Medicine Resident Skill in Determining Diagnosis and Management for Emergent Electrocardiograms: A Multicenter Study.
Reading emergent electrocardiograms (ECGs) is one of the emergency physician's most crucial tasks, yet no well-validated tool exists to measure resident competence in this skill. ⋯ Residency training in EM seems to be associated with improved ability to interpret "critical" ECGs as measured by our assessment tool. This lends validity evidence for the tool by correlating with a previously observed association between residency training and improved ECG interpretation. Resident skill in ECG interpretation remains less than ideal. Creation of this sort of tool may allow programs to assess resident performance as well as evaluate interventions designed to improve competency.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Effect of a Multi-Diagnosis Observation Unit on Emergency Department Length of Stay and Inpatient Admission Rate at Two Canadian Hospitals.
Observation units (OUs) have been shown to reduce emergency department (ED) lengths of stay (LOS) and admissions. Most published studies have been on OUs managing single complaints. ⋯ A multi-diagnosis OU can reduce hospital admission rate in a site-specific manner. In contrast to previous studies, we did not find that an OU reduced ED LOS. Further research is needed to determine whether OUs can reduce ED overcrowding.