Annals of emergency medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Double-blind, multicenter trial to compare the efficacy of intramuscular dihydroergotamine plus hydroxyzine versus intramuscular meperidine plus hydroxyzine for the emergency department treatment of acute migraine headache.
To evaluate intramuscular dihydroergotamine in direct comparison with opioid analgesia in the treatment of acute migraine headache. ⋯ In this prospective, double-blind trial of a convenience sample of ED patients randomly assigned to one of two treatment regimens, DHE and MEP were comparable therapies for acute migraine. The use of DHE avoids several problems associated with opioid analgesia, including dizziness.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Tramadol versus hydrocodone-acetaminophen in acute musculoskeletal pain: a randomized, double-blind clinical trial.
To evaluate the efficacy of an oral tramadol preparation versus that of an oral hydrocodone-acetaminophen preparation in acute musculoskeletal pain. ⋯ Tramadol provides inferior analgesia to hydrocodone-acetaminophen in ED patients with acute musculoskeletal pain.
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The Italian health care system is largely socialized, with priorities and policies established both nationally and regionally. Currently emergency medicine in Italy is practiced mainly by traditional specialists, such as internists and surgeons, and the scope of emergency medicine practice is not as broad as that seen in the United States. However, dedicated training programs in emergency medicine have recently been developed, and it appears that in the future, specially trained emergency physicians will be increasingly available. Emergency medicine is currently viewed as a sub-specialty of internal medicine, and it is unclear whether emergency medicine will be recognized as an independent specialty.