Annals of emergency medicine
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[American College of Emergency Physicians. Hospital, medical staff, and payer responsibility for emergency department patients. Ann Emerg Med. February 2000;35:210-211.].
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Comparative Study
Cardiac arrest witnessed by emergency medical services personnel: descriptive epidemiology, prodromal symptoms, and predictors of survival. OPALS study group.
The Utstein guidelines recommend that emergency medical services (EMS)-witnessed cardiac arrests be considered separately from other out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases. The objective of this study was to assess EMS-witnessed cardiac arrest and to determine predictors of survival in this group. ⋯ EMS-witnessed cases are clearly an important subset of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and are characterized by 2 distinct symptom groups: chest pain and dyspnea. These symptoms are important predictors of survival and may also help determine underlying mechanisms before patient collapse. A later phase of the OPALS study will prospectively evaluate the impact of out-of-hospital advanced life support on the survival of victims of EMS-witnessed cardiac arrest.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A negative SimpliRED D-dimer assay result does not exclude the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolus in emergency department patients.
To determine whether a negative SimpliRED D-dimer assay result excludes the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolus (PE) in emergency department patients. ⋯ In contrast to earlier reports on the SimpliRED D-dimer assay, a negative result failed to exclude the diagnosis of VTE in our ED population.