Annals of emergency medicine
-
We report two cases of severe complications from intraosseous infusions. One child was a sudden infant death syndrome patient who developed severe tissue necrosis after intraosseous placement. ⋯ Intraosseous infusion remains an important resuscitation modality, but great care must be taken to avoid these results. Strategies for avoiding extravasation are discussed.
-
Time series analysis can provide accurate predictions of emergency department volume, length of stay, and acuity. ⋯ Time series analysis can provide powerful, accurate short-range forecasts of future ED volume. Simpler models performed best in this study. Time series forecasts of length of stay and patient acuity are not likely to contribute additional useful information for staffing and resource allocation decisions.
-
To describe fatal childhood injury patterns in an urban county and evaluate the use of the emergency medical services system. ⋯ Fatal childhood injury patterns in this urban setting differed from reported national injury patterns. This study found a higher percentage of deaths from fire, gunshot wounds, and homicides but a lower percentage of motor vehicle-related deaths. Prevention strategies need to address the injury patterns of a particular community. Only a small percentage of victims survived to receive inpatient care following their injuries, suggesting that primary prevention of injury may be the most effective intervention.
-
Editorial Comment
The emergency department and triage of nonurgent patients.