J Emerg Med
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The Emergency Department is widely regarded as the epicenter of medical care for diverse and largely disparate types of patients. Physicians must be aware of the cultural diversity of their patient population to appropriately address their medical needs. A better understanding of residency preparedness in cultural competency can lead to better training opportunities and patient care. ⋯ The majority of the programs in our sample have formal resident didactics on cultural competency. Some faculty members also receive cultural competency training. There are gaps, however, in types of cultural competency training, and many programs have expressed interest in a universal open-source tool to improve cultural competency for Emergency Medicine residents.
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Review Meta Analysis
Diagnostic Accuracy of Clinical Decision Rules to Exclude Fractures in Acute Ankle Injuries: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Ankle decision rules are developed to expedite patient care and reduce the number of radiographs of the ankle and foot. Currently, only three systematic reviews have been conducted on the accuracy of the Ottawa Ankle and Foot Rules (OAFR) in adults and children. However, no systematic review has been performed to determine the most accurate ankle decision rule. ⋯ The OAR and OAFR are the most accurate decision rules for excluding fractures in the event of an acute ankle injury.
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Traumatic lacerations to the skin represent a fairly common reason for seeking emergency department care. Although the incidence of lacerations has decreased over the past decades, traumatic cutaneous lacerations remain a common reason for patients to seek emergency department care. ⋯ Recent innovations in wound closure are allowing emergency physicians to shift toward painless, atraumatic, and rapid closure of lacerations.
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Syncope is a common emergency department (ED) complaint, accounting for 2% of visits annually. A wide variety of etiologies can result in syncope, and vascular causes may be deadly. ⋯ Syncope is common and may be the result of a deadly condition. The emergency physician, through history and physical examination, can determine the need for further evaluation and resuscitation of these patients, with consideration of vascular etiologies of syncope.