Annals of emergency medicine
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The efficacy of an ACLS training program for resuscitation from cardiac arrest in a rural community.
To determine whether an advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) course in a rural hospital will improve resuscitation success from cardiac arrest. ⋯ The institution of an ACLS-provider course in a rural community hospital was associated with improvement in initial resuscitation for patients with ventricular fibrillation/tachycardia and out-of-hospital arrest.
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A model curriculum for the implementation and training of physicians in emergency medicine ultrasonography is described. Widespread use of limited bedside ultrasonography by emergency physicians will improve diagnostic accuracy and efficiency, increase the quality of care, and prove to be a cost-effective technique for the practice of emergency medicine.
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Inferential and descriptive statistics continue to be used incorrectly when analyzing biomedical data. Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) and Revised Trauma Score (RTS) data have recently been described and analyzed using parametric statistical methods in several studies despite the ordinal nature of these data scales. The objective of this study was to determine whether GCS and RTS data are normally distributed, despite their ordinal nature. ⋯ Parametric statistical descriptors and inferential methods are inappropriate for use with GCS and RTS data. Ordinal data should be tested for normality before statistical analysis with parametric statistical methods.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Neuromuscular blockade-assisted oral intubation versus nasotracheal intubation in the prehospital care of injured patients.
To compare nasotracheal intubation (NTI) to neuromuscular blockade-assisted oral intubation (NMB-assisted oral intubation) in the prehospital care of injured patients. ⋯ In the prehospital management of severely injured patients, there is no significant difference between NMB-assisted oral intubation and NTI in the rate at which endotracheal intubation is achieved. However, practitioners may prefer NTI because it requires significantly less time to perform than NMB-assisted oral intubation.