Annals of emergency medicine
-
To assess patient knowledge of managed care organization (MCO) regulations, availability of alternative ambulatory care, and patient outcome after MCO insurance authorization denial for an emergency department visit. ⋯ Few patients are aware of the need for MCO preauthorization for ED care, and almost half do not receive alternative care within 24 hours. A significant number of patients (11%) returned to the ED with an admission rate of 4%.
-
Airway management in the context of penetrating neck injury is a challenging scenario. Management decisionmaking has not been well studied and the initial airway approach remains controversial. We examined various initial emergency airway techniques and their success in the setting of penetrating neck trauma. ⋯ Rapid sequence intubation was the most commonly performed initial technique by emergency physicians and was safe and effective in all cases attempted. Furthermore, rapid sequence intubation methodology resulted in successful intubation of the fiberoptic intubation failures. Physicians with airway expertise should consider using rapid sequence intubation as an initial airway technique in managing patients with penetrating neck injury who require airway control.
-
To characterize differences in the lethality of firearm-related injuries in selected demographic subgroups using national representative data on fatal and nonfatal firearm-related injuries. We also characterize the lethality of firearm-related injuries by intent of injury and anatomic location of the gunshot wound. ⋯ The lethality of firearm-related injuries was influenced strongly by the intent of injury and body part affected. The high lethality of firearm-related injuries relative to other major causes of injury emphasizes the need to continue prevention efforts and efforts to improve access to care and treatment (including emergency medical and acute care services) to reduce the number and increase survivability of firearm-related injuries.
-
Recent reports suggest a short series of cardiac troponin (cTnT) testing effectively identifies patients at risk for cardiac events. However, there are few studies validating this strategy. The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of cTnT levels to predict short- and long-term outcomes in low-risk patients with suspected acute coronary syndromes. ⋯ Determination of troponin T levels has a low sensitivity and high specificity for predicting outcomes in low-risk patients evaluated for suspected acute coronary syndromes. This study does not support a strategy of relying solely on troponin testing for disposition decisions.