Annals of emergency medicine
-
Improved survival rates and more centers performing liver transplantation have resulted in increasing numbers of liver transplant recipients presenting to emergency departments. This article familiarizes emergency physicians with orthotopic liver transplantation and complications that cause liver transplant recipients to visit EDs. Savitsky EA, Üner AB, Votey SR: Evaluation of orthotopic liver transplant recipients presenting to the emergency department. Ann Emerg Med April 1998;31:507-517.].
-
Comparative Study
Comparison of arterial and venous blood gas values in the initial emergency department evaluation of patients with diabetic ketoacidosis.
To determine whether venous blood gas values can replace arterial gas values in the initial emergency department evaluation of patients with suspected diabetic ketoacidosis. ⋯ Venous blood gas measurements accurately demonstrate the degree of acidosis of adult ED patients presenting with diabetic ketoacidosis.
-
Comparative Study
Effects of adding links to "the chain of survival" for prehospital cardiac arrest: a contrast in outcomes in 1975 and 1995 at a single institution.
The concept of a "chain of survival" to improve outcome from prehospital cardiac arrest has been defined and promulgated over the last two decades. The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes of prehospital cardiac arrest in 1975 and 1995 at a single institution. ⋯ Survival decreased dramatically during the 20-year study period. This may be because of the high incidence of chronic disease, the greater frequency of asystole and pulseless electrical activity, and the inclusion of patients with "end-of-life" arrests in which ACLS protocol was initiated in the 1995 cohort. The patient population in which ACLS is initiated is the weakest link in the "chain of survival."
-
To determine whether race, when controlled for income, is an independent predictor of survival to hospital discharge after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). ⋯ Race was not found to predict adverse OHCA outcomes in this affluent population.