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Evaluation of an algorithm for estimating a patient's life threat risk from an ambulance callEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: A patient's life threat risk was quantitatively assessed at the moment of the emergency call with a moderate level of accuracy. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - October 20, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Kenji OhshigeChihiro KawakamiShunsaku MizushimaYoshihiro MoriwakiNoriyuki Suzuki Source Type: journals

Paramedic assessment of pain in the cognitively impaired adult patientEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusion: The reviews of pain assessment tools found that the majority were developed to assess chronic pain in aged care, hospital or hospice settings. An analysis of the characteristics of these pain assessment tools identified attributes that may limit their use in paramedic practice. One tool - the Abbey Pain Scale - may have application in paramedic assessment of pain, but clinical evaluation is required to validate this tool in the paramedic practice setting. Further research is recommended to evaluate the Abbey Pain Scale and to evaluate the effectiveness of paramedic pain management practice in older adults to en...
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - October 5, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Bill Lord Source Type: journals

Comparison of balance assessment modalities in emergency department elders: a pilot cross-sectional observational studyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Over 40% of community-dwelling elder ED patients report a fall within the past year. Balance plate and TUG testing were feasibly conducted in an ED setting. There is no relationship between scores on balance plate and TUG testing in these patients. In regression analysis, neither modality was significantly associated with patient provided history of falls. These modalities should not be adopted for screening purposes in elders in the ED setting without validation in future studies or as part of multi-factorial risk assessment. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - September 27, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Jeffrey CaterinoRowan KaramanVinay AroraJacqueline MartinBrian Hiestand Source Type: journals

The intuitive use of laryngeal airway tools by first year medical studentsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Background: Providing a secured airway is of paramount importance in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Although intubating the trachea is yet seen as gold standard, this technique is still reserved to experienced healthcare professionals. Compared to bag-valve facemask ventilation, however, the insertion of a laryngeal mask airway offers the opportunity to ventilate the patient effectively and can also be placed easily by lay responders. Obviously, it might be inserted without detailed background knowledge.The purpose of the study was to investigate the intuitive use of airway devices by first-year medical students as well as...
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - September 21, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Johannes BickenbachGereon SchaelteStefan BeckersMichael FriesMatthias DerwallRolf Rossaint Source Type: journals

Paramedic clinical decision making during high acuity emergency calls: design and methodology of a Delphi studyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study will utilize the Delphi technique to establish consensus on the most important instances of paramedic clinical decision making during high acuity emergency calls, as they relate to clinical outcome and patient safety. Methods: Participants in this multi-round survey study will be paramedic leaders and emergency medical services medical directors/physicians from across Canada. In the first round, participants will identify instances of clinical decision making they feel are important for patient outcome and safety. On the second round, the panel will rank each instance of clinical decision making in terms of its ...
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - September 20, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Jan JensenPat CroskerryAndrew Travers Source Type: journals

The nature and causes of unintended events reported at ten emergency departmentsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Event reporting gives insight into diverse unintended events. The information on unintended events may help target research and interventions to increase patient safety. It seems worthwhile to direct interventions on the collaboration between the ED and other hospital departments. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - September 17, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Marleen SmitsPeter GroenewegenDanielle TimmermansGerrit van der WalCordula Wagner Source Type: journals

Intracranial bleeding in patients with traumatic brain injury: A prognostic studyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusion: Large EDH, SDH and IPH are associated with a substantially higher probability of hospital mortality in comparison with small IB. However, the limitations of our data, such as the large proportion of missing data and lack of data on other confounding factors, such as localization of the bleeding, make the results of this report only explanatory. Future studies should also evaluate the effect of IB size on functional outcomes. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - August 2, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Pablo PerelIan RobertsOmar BouamraMaralyn WoodfordJane MooneyFiona Lecky Source Type: journals

Intracranial bleeding in patients with traumatic brain injury: A prognostic studyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Large EDH, SDH and IPH are associated with a substantially higher probability of hospital mortality in comparison with small IB. However, the limitations of our data, such as the large proportion of missing data and lack of data on other confounding factors, such as localization of the bleeding, make the results of this report only explanatory. Future studies should also evaluate the effect of IB size on functional outcomes. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - August 2, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Pablo PerelIan RobertsOmar BouamraMaralyn WoodfordJane MooneyFiona Lecky Source Type: journals

A survey of factors associated with the successful recognition of agonal breathing and cardiac arrest by 9-1-1 call takers: design and methodology.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study will be conducted in three phases using the Theory of Planned Behaviour. In Phase One, we will conduct semi-structured qualitative interviews with a purposeful selection of 9-1-1 call takers from Ontario, and identify common themes and belief categories. In Phase Two, we will use the qualitative interview results to design and pilot a quantitative survey. In Phase Three, a final version of the quantitative survey will be administered via an electronic medium to all registered call takers in the province of Ontario. We will perform qualitative thematic analysis (Phase One) and regression modelling (Phases Two and...
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - July 30, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Christian VaillancourtJan JensenJeremy GrimshawJamie BrehautManya CharetteAnn KasaboskiMartin OsmondGeorge WellsIan Stiell Source Type: journals

Crotaline Fab antivenom appears to be effective in cases of severe North American pit viper envenomation: An integrative reviewEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: In this structured literature review, FabAV appears to be effective in the management of severe crotaline snake envenomation. Incomplete response to therapy, recurrence of venom effects, and delayed-onset venom effects were reported in case reports, but not reported in cohort studies. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - June 21, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Eric LavonasTammi SchaefferJamie KokkoSara MlynarchekGregory Bogdan Source Type: journals

Negative predictive value and potential cost savings of acute nuclear myocardial perfusion imaging in low risk patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome: A prospective single blinded studyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusion: Our findings in a Swedish ED support the results of larger American trials that acute MPI has the potential to safely reduce the number of admissions and decrease overall costs for low-risk ED patients with suspected ACS. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - June 18, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Jakob ForbergCatarina HilmerssonMarcus CarlssonHakan ArhedenJonas BjorkKrister HjalteUlf Ekelund Source Type: journals

The impact of a fast track area on quality and effectiveness outcomes: A Middle Eastern emergency department perspectiveEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Background: Emergency department (ED) overcrowding is a ubiquitous problem with serious public health implications. The fast track area is a novel method which aims to reduce waiting time, patient dissatisfaction and morbidity. |The study objective was to determine the impact of a fast track area (FTA) on both effectiveness measures (i.e. waiting times [WT] and length of stay [LOS]) and quality measures (i.e. LWBS rates and mortality rates) in non-urgent patients. The secondary objective was to assess if a FTA negatively impacted on urgent patients entering the ED. Methods: The study took place in a 500 bed, urban, tertiar...
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - June 16, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Subashnie DevkaranHoward ParsonsMurray Van DykeJonathan DrennanJaishen Rajah Source Type: journals

Case reports describing treatments in the emergency medicine literature: Misleading and missing informationEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Treatment-related CRs in emergency medicine journals often omit critical details about treatments, co-interventions, outcomes, generalizability, causality and denominators. As a result, the information may be misleading to providers, and the clinical applications may be detrimental to patient care. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - June 15, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tiffany RichasonStephen PaulsonSteven LowensteinKennon Heard Source Type: journals

Comparison of the Glidescope(R) and Pentax AWS(R) laryngoscopes to the Macintosh laryngoscope for use by Advanced Paramedics in easy and simulated difficult intubation.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusion: The Glidescope(R) and AWS(R) devices possess advantages over the conventional Macintosh laryngoscope when used by Advanced Paramedics in normal and simulated difficult intubation scenarios in this manikin study. Further studies are required to extend these findings to the clinical setting. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - May 17, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Sajid Nasim, Chrisen H Maharaj, Muhammad A Malik, John O'Donnell, Brendan D Higgins and John G Laffey Source Type: journals

Undergraduate medical education in emergency medical care: A nationwide survey at German medical schoolsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusion: Emergency Medical Care in undergraduate medical education in Germany has a practical orientation, but is very inconsistently structured. The innovative options of simulation technology or state-of-the-art assessment methods are not consistently utilized. Therefore, an exchange of experiences and concepts between faculties and disciplines should be promoted to guarantee a standard level of education in emergency medical care. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - May 12, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Stefan K Beckers, Arnd Timmermann, Michael P Muller, Matthias Angstwurm and Felix Walcher Source Type: journals

Post-crash management of road traffic injury victims in Iran. Stakeholders' views on current barriers and potential facilitatorsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusion: To sum up, it seems that the involvement of laypeople could be a key factor in making post-crash management more effective. But system improvements are also crucial, including the integration of the trauma system and its development in terms of human resources (staffing and training) and physical resources as well as the infrastructure development. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - May 12, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Davoud Khorasani-Zavareh, Hamid Reza Khankeh, Reza Mohammadi, Lucie Laflamme, Ali Bikmoraki and Bo J.A. Haglund Source Type: journals

Modelling optimal location for pre-hospital helicopter emergency medical servicesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: GIS based protocols for location of emergency medical resources can provide supportive evidence for allocation decisions - especially when resources are limited. In this study, we were able to demonstrate conclusively that a logical choice exists for location of additional HEMS. This protocol could be extended to location analysis for other emergency and health services. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - May 9, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Nadine Schuurman, Nathaniel J Bell, Randy L'Heureux and Syed M Hameed Source Type: journals

Using molecular similarity to highlight the challenges of routine immunoassay-based drug of abuse/toxicology screening in emergency medicineEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: The expanding structural diversity of drugs presents a difficult challenge for routine DOA/Tox screening that limit the clinical utility of these tests in the emergency medicine setting. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - April 28, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Matthew D Krasowski, Anthony F Pizon, Mohamed G Siam, Spiros Giannoutsos, Manisha Iyer and Sean Ekins Source Type: journals

Smaller self-inflating bags produce greater guideline consistent ventilation in simulated cardiopulmonary resuscitationEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Smaller self-inflating bags reduce the incidence of suboptimal tidal volumes and minute volumes and produce greater guideline consistent results for cardiac arrest patients. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - February 20, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Ziad Nehme and Malcolm J Boyle Source Type: journals

Hands-on time during cardiopulmonary resuscitation is affected by the process of teambuilding: a prospective randomised simulator-based trialEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Hands-on time and time to defibrillation, two performance markers of CPR with a proven relevance for medical outcome, are negatively affected by shortcomings in the process of ad-hoc team-building and particularly deficits in leadership. Team-building has thus to be regarded as an additional task imposed on teams forming ad-hoc during CPR. All physicians should be aware that early structuring of the own team is a prerequisite for timely and effective execution of CPR. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - February 14, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Sabina Hunziker, Franziska Tschan, Norbert K Semmer, Roger Zobrist, Martin Spychiger, Marc Breuer, Patrick R Hunziker and Stephan C Marsch Source Type: journals

Comparison of the Airtraq(R) and Truview(R) laryngoscopes to the Macintosh laryngoscope for use by Advanced Paramedics in easy and simulated difficult intubation in manikins.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusion: The Airtraq(R) laryngoscope performed more favourably than the Macintosh and Truview(R) devices when used by Paramedics in this manikin study. Further studies are required to extend these findings to the clinical setting. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - February 13, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Sajid Nasim, Chrisen H Maharaj, Ishan Butt, Muhammad A Malik, John O'Donnell, Brendan D Higgins, Brian H Harte and John G Laffey Source Type: journals

Forecasting daily attendances at an emergency department to aid resource planningEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Time series analysis has been shown to provide a useful, readily available tool for predicting emergency department workload that can be used to plan staff roster and resource planning. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - January 29, 2009 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Yan Sun, Bee Hoon Heng, Yian Tay Seow and Eillyne Seow Source Type: journals

Anion gap, anion gap corrected for albumin, base deficit and unmeasured anions in critically ill patients: implications on the assessment of metabolic acidosis and the diagnosis of hyperlactatemiaEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: AG and BD failed to reliably detect the presence of clinically significant hyperlactatemia. Under idealized conditions, ACAG has the capacity to rule out the presence of hyperlactatemia. Lac levels should be obtained routinely in all patients admitted to the ICU in whom the possibility of shock/hypoperfusion is being considered. If an AG assessment is required in the ICU, it must be corrected for albumin for there to be sufficient diagnostic utility (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - December 16, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Lakhmir S Chawla, Shirley Shih, Danielle L Davison, Christopher Junker and Michael G Seneff Source Type: journals

The association of psychiatric comorbidity and use of the emergency department among persons with substance use disorders: an observational cohort studyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: The results provide further support for the notion that the ED could and should serve as an important identification site for cost-effective intervention. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - December 3, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Geoffrey M Curran, Greer Sullivan, Keith Williams, Xiaotong Han, Elise Allee and Kathryn J Kotrla Source Type: journals

Occupational stressors and its organizational and individual correlates: A nationwide study of Norwegian ambulance personnelEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Ambulance-specific stressors were reported as both more severe and more frequently occurring stressors than were organizational stressors. Organizational working conditions were more strongly related to frequency of job stressors than were individual differences. In general, the relationship between occupational stressors and individual differences was weak. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - December 2, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tom TS Sterud, Erlend EH Hem, Oivind OE Ekeberg and Bjorn BL Lau Source Type: journals

Pre-hospital treatment of acute poisonings in OsloEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: More than half of the poisoned patients treated in pre-hospital treatment settings were discharged without transfer to higher levels. These poisonings were more often caused by drug and alcohol abuse than in those who were hospitalized, and more than two-thirds were males. Almost half of those discharged from ambulances received an antidote. The pre-hospital treatment of these poisonings appears safe regarding short-term mortality. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - November 24, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Fridtjof Heyerdahl, Knut E Hovda, Mari A Bjornaas, Anne K Nore, Jose CP Figueiredo, Oivind Ekeberg and Dag Jacobsen Source Type: journals

Practical examination of bystanders performing Basic Life Support in Germany: a prospective manikin studyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Background: In an out-of-hospital emergency situation bystander intervention is essential for a sufficient functioning of the chain of rescue. The basic measures of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (Basic Life Support - BLS) by lay people are therefore definitely part of an effective emergency service of a patient needing resuscitation. Relevant knowledge is provided to the public by various course conceptions. The learning success concerning a one day first aid course ("LSM" course in Germany) has not been much investigated in the past. We investigated to what extent lay people could perform BLS correctly in a standardized m...
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - November 20, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Christoph H.R. Wiese, Henryk Wilke, Jan Bahr and Bernhard M. Graf Source Type: journals

Emergency department physician training in Jamaica: a national public hospital surveyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: The majority of medical officers in public hospital EDs across Jamaica are relatively inexperienced and inadequately trained. Consultant supervision is not available in most public hospital EDs. With the injury epidemic that exists in Jamaica, it is logical that increased training opportunities and resources are required to meet the needs of the population. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - October 12, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Ivor W Crandon, Hyacinth E Harding, Shamir O Cawich, Eric W Williams and Jean Williams-Johnson Source Type: journals

An evaluation of a Shockroom located CT scanner: a randomized study of early assessment by CT scanning in trauma patients in the bi-located trauma center North-West Netherlands (REACT trial)Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
DiscussionThe REACT-trial will provide evidence on the effects of a strategy involving early shockroom CT scanning compared with a standard diagnostic imaging strategy in trauma patients on both patient outcome and operations research.Trial registrationISRCTN55332315 (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - August 22, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Teun P Saltzherr, PH Ping Fung Kon Jin, Fred C Bakker, Kees J Ponsen, Jan SK Luitse, Mark Scholing, Georgios F Giannakopoulos, Ludo FM Beenen, C Pieter Henny, Ger M Koole, Hans B Reitsma, Marcel GW Dijkgraaf, Patrick MM Bossuyt and J Carel Goslings Source Type: journals

An evaluation of a Shockroom located CT scanner: a Randomized study of Early Assessment by CT scanning in Trauma patients in the bi-located Trauma center North-West Netherlands (REACT trial).Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
DiscussionThe REACT-trial will provide evidence on the effects of a strategy involving early shockroom CT scanning compared with a standard diagnostic imaging strategy in trauma patients on both patient outcome and operations research. Trial registration: ISRCTN55332315 (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - August 22, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Teun P Saltzherr, PH Ping Fung Kon Jin, Fred C Bakker, Kees J Ponsen, Jan SK Luitse, Mark Scholing, Georgios F Giannakopoulos, Ludo FM Beenen, C Pieter Henny, Ger M Koole, Hans B Reitsma, Marcel GW Dijkgraaf, Patrick MM Bossuyt and J Carel Goslings Source Type: journals

A review of patients who suddenly deteriorate in the presence of paramedicsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: This study suggests that the incidents of patients suddenly deteriorating in the presence of paramedics are low and the incidence of hospital bypass is not well documented. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - July 26, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Malcolm J Boyle, Erin C Smith and Frank Archer Source Type: journals

Assessing emergency medical care in low income countries: a pilot study from PakistanEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Assessment of emergency care should be part of health systems analysis in Pakistan. Multiple deficiencies in emergency care at the district level in Pakistan were noted in our study. Priority should be given to make emergency care responsive to needs in Pakistan. Specific efforts should be directed to equip emergency care at district facilities and to organize an ambulance network. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - July 3, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Junaid A Razzak, Adnan A Hyder, Tasleem Akhtar, Mubashir Khan and Uzma R Khan Source Type: journals

The Current Crisis in Emergency Care and the Impact on Disaster PreparednessEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
DiscussionAfter 9/11, federal plans, procedures and benchmarks were mandated to assure a unified, comprehensive disaster response, ranging from local to federal activation of resources. Nevertheless, insufficient federal funding has contributed to a long-standing counter-trend which has eroded emergency medical care. The causes are complex and multifactorial, but they have converged to present a severely overburdened system that regularly exceeds emergency capacity and capabilities. This constant acute overcrowding, felt in communities all across the country, indicates a nation at risk. Federal funding has not sufficiently...
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - May 1, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Robert A Cherry and Marcia Trainer Source Type: journals

Quality of care in elder emergency department patients with pneumonia: a prospective cohort studyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Elderly patients admitted from the ED with pneumonia are more likely to receive antibiotics while in the ED and to have oxygenation assessed in the ED than younger patients. The independent association of certain patient characteristics with process failure provides an opportunity to further increase compliance with recommended quality measures in admitted patients diagnosed with pneumonia. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - April 30, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Jeffrey M Caterino, Brian C Hiestand and Daniel R Martin Source Type: journals

An Evaluation of the Osmole Gap as a Screening Test for Toxic Alcohol PoisoningEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: In this sample, an osmole gap threshold of 10 has a sensitivity and negative predictive value of 1 for identifying patients for whom hemodialysis is recommended, independent of the ethanol coefficient applied. In patients potentially requiring antidotal therapy, applying an ethanol coefficient of 1.25 resulted in a higher specificity and positive predictive value without compromising the sensitivity. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - April 28, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Larry D Lynd, Kathryn J Richardson, Roy A Purssell, Riyad B Abu-Laban, Jeffery R Brubacher, Katherine J Lepik and Marco L.A. Sivilotti Source Type: journals

Influence of airway management strategy on No-Flow-Time during an Advanced Life Support Course for intensive care nurses - a single rescuer resuscitation manikin studyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Background: In 1999, the laryngeal tube (VBM Medizintechnik, Sulz, Germany) was introduced as a new supraglottic airway. It was designed to allow either spontaneous breathing or controlled ventilation during anaesthesia; additionally it may serve as an alternative to endotracheal intubation, or bag-mask ventilation during resuscitation. Several variations of this supraglottic airway exist. In our study, we compared ventilation with the laryngeal tube suction for single use (LTS-D) and a bag-mask device. One of the main points of the revised ERC 2005 guidelines is a low no-flow-time (NFT). The NFT is defined as the time dur...
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - April 10, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Christoph H.R. Wiese, Utz Bartels, Alexander Schultens, Tobias Steffen, Andreas Torney, Jan Bahr and Bernhard M. Graf Source Type: journals

A study to derive a clinical decision rule for triage of emergency department patients with chest pain: design and methodologyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
DiscussionThe study will derive a highly sensitive clinical decision rule to identify low risk patients safe for early discharge. This will improve patient care, lower healthcare costs, and enhance flow in our busy and overcrowded emergency departments. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - February 6, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Erik P Hess, George W Wells, Allan Jaffe and Ian G Stiell Source Type: journals

Thematic Research network for emergency and UnScheduled Treatment (TRUST): scoping the potentialEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: The study included views from patient, provider, policy and academic perspectives and built the case for a research network in emergency care. Now funded, TRUST (Thematic Research network for emergency and UnScheduled Treatment) will allow the development of research proposals, building of research teams and recruitment of sites and patients both in Wales and across the UK. It aims to address the imbalance between investment and research in this area and help support provision of 'the right care to the right people at the right time'. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - January 30, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Julie Peconi, Helen Snooks and Adrian Edwards Source Type: journals

Systematic review of randomized clinical trials on the use of hydroxyethyl starch for fluid management in sepsisEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Hydroxyethyl starch increases the risk of acute renal failure among patients with sepsis and may also reduce the probability of survival. While the evidence reviewed cannot necessarily be applied to other clinical indications, hydroxyethyl starch should be avoided in sepsis. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - January 24, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Christian J Wiedermann Source Type: journals

Preparedness of emergency departments in north west England for managing chemical incidents: a structured interview surveyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: We have identified major inconsistencies in the preparedness of North West Emergency Departments for managing chemical incidents. Nationally recognized standards on incident planning, facilities, equipment and procedures need to be agreed and implemented with adequate resources. Issues of environmental safety and patient dignity and comfort should also be addressed. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - December 20, 2007 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Jane Williams, Darren Walter and Kirsty Challen Source Type: journals

Prevalence and demographics of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus in culturable skin and soft tissue infections in an urban emergency departmentEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusion: In this population of emergency department patients, MRSA skin infection was related to youth, recent sexual contact, presence of abscess, low body mass index, spontaneity of infection, incarceration or contact with an inmate, and group home living. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - October 31, 2007 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Christian H Jacobus, Christopher J Lindsell, Sabrina D Leach, Gregory J Fermann, Amy B Kressel and Laura E Rue Source Type: journals

Cost-efficiency assessment of Advanced Life Support (ALS) courses based on the comparison of advanced simulators with conventional manikinsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Background: Simulation is an essential tool in modern medical education. The object of this study was to assess, in cost-effective measures, the introduction of new generation simulators in an adult life support (ALS) education program. Methods: Two hundred fifty primary care physicians and nurses were admitted to ten ALS courses (25 students per course). Students were distributed at random in two groups (125 each). Group A candidates were trained and tested with standard ALS manikins and Group B ones with new generation emergency and life support integrated simulator systems. Results: In group A, 98 (78%) candidates pas...
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - October 22, 2007 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Jose Antonio Iglesias-Vazquez, Antonio Rodriguez-Nunez, Monica Penas-Penas, Luis Sanchez-Santos, Maria Cegarra-Garcia and Maria Victoria Barreiro-Diaz Source Type: journals

Prehospital score for acute disease: a community-based observational study in JapanEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: The prehospital score could be a useful tool for deciding the refusal of ambulance transfer in Japan's emergency medical service system. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - October 15, 2007 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Yasuhiro Toyoda, Yoshio Matsuo, Hiroyuki Tanaka, Hidekazu Fujiwara, Toshio Takatorige and Hiroyasu Iso Source Type: journals

Ocular injuries in survivors of improvised explosive devices (IED) in commuter trainsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Ophthalmologists and traumatologists should be aware of these patterns of ocular injuries. Protocols need to include the screening of large numbers of patients in a short time, diagnostic tests (B scan, visual evoked potential (VEP) etc) and early surgery preferably at the initial triage itself as most of the serious injuries in our studies had been missed or not treated at an initial assessment. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - September 27, 2007 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Salil Mehta, Vinay Agarwal and Prakash Jiandani Source Type: journals

Quitline referral vs. self-help manual for tobacco use cessation in the Emergency Department: a feasibility studyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Compliance with the QL intervention was encouraging and may hold promise for providing needed tobacco use counseling to ED patients. Future studies are required, and should focus on more effective mechanisms to obtain outcome measures and a larger sample size. Trial Registration: NCT00394420 (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - September 14, 2007 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Nicola E E Schiebel and Jon O Ebbert Source Type: journals

Comparison of a nurse initiated insulin infusion protocol for intensive insulin therapy between adult surgical trauma, medical and coronary care intensive care patientsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Background: Sustained hyperglycemia is a known risk factor for adverse outcomes in critically ill patients. The specific aim was to determine if a nurse initiated insulin infusion protocol (IIP) was effective in maintaining blood glucose values (BG) within a target goal of 100-150 mg/dL across different intensive care units (ICUs) and to describe glycemic control during the 48 hours after protocol discontinuation. Methods: A descriptive, retrospective review of 366 patients having 28,192 blood glucose values in three intensive care units, Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit (STICU), Medical (MICU) and Coronary Care Unit (C...
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - August 29, 2007 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Melissa M Barth, Lance J Oyen, Karen T Warfield, Jennifer L Elmer, Laura K Evenson, Ann N Tescher, Philip J Kuper, Michael P Bannon, Ognjen Gajic and J. Christopher Farmer Source Type: journals

A new implicit review instrument for measuring quality of care delivered to pediatric patients in the emergency departmentEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Background: There are few outcomes experienced by children receiving care in the Emergency Department (ED) that are amenable to measuring for the purposes of assessing of quality of care. The purpose of this study was to develop, test, and validate a new implicit review instrument that measures quality of care delivered to children in EDs. Methods: We developed a 7-point structured implicit review instrument that encompasses four aspects of care, including the physician's initial data gathering, integration of information and development of appropriate diagnoses; initial treatment plan and orders; and plan for disposition ...
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - August 22, 2007 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Madan Dharmar, James P Marcin, Nathan Kuppermann, Emily R Andrada, Stacey L Cole, Danielle J Harvey and Patrick S Romano Source Type: journals

Failure of psychiatric referrals from the pediatric emergency departmentEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: Children screened in the ED for unrecognized mental health problems are very unlikely to follow-up for a mental health evaluation with or without an enhanced referral. Understanding the role of ED based mental health screening and the timing of an intervention is key in developing ED based mental health interventions. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - August 15, 2007 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Jacqueline Grupp-Phelan, Sergio V Delgado and Kelly J Kelleher Source Type: journals

Success of microvascular surgery: repair of mesenteric injury and prevention of short bowel syndrome:a case reportEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We present a 19-year-old boy with blunt abdominal trauma which caused serious mesenteric injury. Because ultrasound revealed free intraabdominal fluid, he underwent emergent laparotomy. Adequate vascularization of approximately 20 cm of proximal jejunal segment and approximately 20 cm of terminal ileum was observed. Nevertheless, the mesentery of the rest of the small intestine segments was ruptured completely. We performed an end-to-end anastomosis between a distal branch of the superior mesenteric artery in the mesentery of the ileal segment and a branch of the superior mesenteric artery using separate sutures of 7.0 mon...
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - August 14, 2007 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Unal Aydin, Omer V Unalp, Pinar Yazici and Adem Guler Source Type: journals

Impact of Introducing Multiple Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Protocols in a Medical Intensive Care unit: A Retrospective Cohort StudyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions: The introduction of multiple evidence-based protocols is associated with improved outcome in critically ill medical patients. (Source: BMC Emergency Medicine)
Source: BMC Emergency Medicine - August 8, 2007 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Bekele Afessa, Ognjen Gajic, Mark T Keegan, Edward G Seferian, Rolf D Hubmary and Steve G Peters Source Type: journals