Annals of emergency medicine
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To determine whether prehospital outcome of patients who receive care from emergency medical technicians-paramedic (EMT-Ps) differs from that of patients who receive care from emergency medical technicians-defibrillation (EMT-Ds), as rated by the treating EMTs using standardized scales, and to determine whether the patient's seriousness of illness is relevant to any differential benefit of one level of care over the other. ⋯ According to the ratings of prehospital care providers, patients classified as "severe" or "life-threatened" had their conditions "improve" by the time they arrived at the hospital more often when care was provided by an EMT-P team than when it was provided by an EMT-D team.
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Comparative Study
Chemical dependency in emergency medicine residency programs: perspective of the program directors.
To evaluate the educational background, knowledge, and experiences regarding chemical dependency among emergency medicine program directors. The program directors' awareness of substance use and alcohol abuse among emergency medicine residents was examined by comparing their estimates with the actual rates reported by the residents. ⋯ Emergency medicine program directors must be more attentive to potential alcohol abuse among emergency medicine residents and should receive additional education regarding chemical dependency.
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To identify and determine the rates of delivery and performance of telephone CPR in noncardiac arrest incidents. ⋯ We found a low rate of performance of telephone CPR in King County for incidents resembling cardiac arrest. This finding suggests that the protocols designed for dispatcher-assisted telephone CPR effectively screen out those incidents that may initially resemble cardiac arrest.
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To assess emergency medicine residents' perspectives on violence and personal safety in the emergency department. ⋯ Violence and personal safety in the ED are major concerns of emergency medicine residents.
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To assess the feasibility of coordinating home care services from an inner-city emergency department. ⋯ A significant proportion of elderly patients being discharged from the ED need home health services. Access to rapidly deployed home care services can obviate the need for hospital admission for a select group of debilitated patients. The provision of home care services from the ED is economically feasible.