J Emerg Med
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Observational Study
Assessing the Predictive Value of Combining Risk Scoring Systems and Ultrasonography for Short-Term Adverse Outcomes in Syncope: A Prospective Observational Study.
In the emergency department (ED), the role of ultrasonography (USG) in risk stratification and predicting adverse events in syncope patients is a current research area. However, it is still unclear how ultrasound can be combined with existing risk scores. ⋯ The use of USG in the evaluation of syncope patients did not result in significant improvement in sensitivity and specificity values for predicting adverse events. However, larger sample-sized studies are needed to understand its potential contributions better.
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Methamphetamine-associated cardiomyopathy (MACM) is a known complication of methamphetamine use; however, risk factors and outcomes of patients with MACM are not well understood. ⋯ Patients who developed MACM had traditional risk factors for heart failure and experienced significantly more ED visits, more hospitalizations, and longer hospital stays than matched controls.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Grey-to-White Matter Ratio Values in Early Head Computed Tomography (CT) as a Predictor of Neurologic Outcomes in Survivors of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Based on Severity of Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury.
Hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HIBI) is a common complication of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). ⋯ In this cohort study, GWR values measured using early HCT demonstrated variations in predicting neurologic outcomes based on HIBI severity. Furthermore, GWR in the moderate group was associated with poor neurologic outcomes.
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Multicenter Study
The Effect of Contrast Rationing on the Development of Acute Kidney Injury During the Global Contrast Shortage.
In April of 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a global shortage of intravenous contrast media (ICM), which led our health care system to implement rationing measures. ⋯ The dramatic reduction in ICM use that resulted from the global shortage was not associated with a change in the incidence of AKI. This reinforces the results of previous studies which have failed to find evidence of a relationship between ICM administration and AKI.