Annals of emergency medicine
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To determine whether routine performance of an ECG could have been safely avoided in a subset of emergency department patients admitted to a university hospital. ⋯ The admission ECG could have been avoided in an identifiable subset of ED patients admitted to the medical service of our hospital, with no adverse effect on patient outcome. This finding, if corroborated in other patient populations, suggests the potential for significant cost savings for the US health care system as a whole.
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To investigate the frequency of emergency department analgesic use in children with presumably painful fractures who are also at risk for associated multiple injuries and to determine whether there are specific factors that distinguish those who are prescribed analgesics from those who are not. ⋯ Our results suggest that ED analgesic use was low in these mildly to moderately injured children with presumably painful fractures who are also at risk for associated multiple injuries. Head injury was associated with especially low analgesic use. We did not identify other specific factors that distinguished those who received analgesics from those who did not. Further investigation is required to determine if after the initial evaluation, a larger proportion of mildly to moderately injured trauma victims with fractures are appropriate candidates for ED analgesic use.
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To determine the height of back elevation required to place the cervical spine of children less than 8 years old in neutral position and whether agreement on the height required for neutral position could be reached by two independent observers. ⋯ Children less than 8 years old require back elevation to achieve neutral position while lying supine on a backboard. Also, independent observers can agree on what constitutes neutral position in most children.
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Editorial Comment
The emergency department and triage of nonurgent patients.