J Emerg Med
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There is growing concern in academic emergency medicine as to the appropriateness of 24-hour faculty coverage in the teaching emergency department. We surveyed 170 teaching emergency departments, 49 of which had approved emergency medicine residencies, asking for information regarding 24-hour faculty coverage. We were able to separate each department into one of 15 profiles based on the two variables of average ED yearly census and hospital type. Seventy-three percent of university teaching hospital EDs and 65% of those with emergency medicine residencies have 24-hour faculty coverage; 83% of private teaching hospital EDs and 100% of those with emergency medicine residencies have 24-hour faculty coverage; and 79% of city/county teaching hospital EDs and 80% of those with emergency medicine residencies have 24-hour faculty coverage.
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Controversial therapeutic issues in patients with caustic ingestions concern the reliability of symptoms and signs in predicting esophageal injury, the appropriate use of endoscopy in evaluating esophageal damage, and the use of steroids in preventing late strictures. The conclusions of this review are: The majority of pediatric caustic ingestions involve a "lick and taste" whereas adolescents and adults often ingest substantial quantities. ⋯ Endoscopy should be an elective rather than emergency procedure and should be undertaken in all symptomatic patients, and in asymptomatic patients when history indicates substantial ingestion. Steroid therapy should be considered only for patients who have deep or circumferential esophageal burns.
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Percutaneous central venous catheterization provides access for volume replacement and hemodynamic monitoring. This study reviewed 119 percutaneous central venous catheterizations in 112 patients over a 12-month period. All catheters were placed by emergency department (ED) physicians or housestaff under their direct guidance. ⋯ Postoperatively, five (26%) of these were converted to pulmonary artery catheters. Central venous catheters can be placed in patients percutaneously in the emergency department with minimal morbidity. They provide initial access to the central circulation for resuscitation and subsequently can be converted to pulmonary artery catheters for hemodynamic monitoring.
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The beneficial hemodynamic effects of sodium bicarbonate as treatment for tricyclic antidepressant poisoning were investigated in an animal model. Seven adult dogs (17.5 to 20 kg) were poisoned by an intravenous infusion of amitriptyline. Toxicity was defined as a doubling of the initial QRS width. ⋯ All dysrhythmias ceased within one minute of administration of sodium bicarbonate. An increase in mean blood pressure (P less than .05) and serum pH (P less than .05) and a decrease in mean QRS width (P less than .05) occurred following administration of sodium bicarbonate. The maintenance of toxicity for 30 minutes suggests that this model can be used for future studies of tricyclic antidepressant poisoning.