Annals of emergency medicine
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Pediatric intubation is a core paramedic skill in some emergency medical services (EMS) systems. The literature lacks a detailed examination of the challenges and subsequent adjustments made by paramedics when intubating children in the out-of-hospital setting. We undertake a descriptive evaluation of the process of out-of-hospital pediatric intubation, focusing on challenges, adjustments, and outcomes. ⋯ Pediatric intubation by paramedics was performed infrequently in this EMS system. Although overall intubation success was high, a detailed evaluation of the process of intubation revealed specific challenges and adjustments that can be anticipated by paramedics to improve first-pass success, potentially reduce complications, and ultimately improve clinical outcomes.
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Annals of Emergency Medicine collaborated with an educational Web site, Academic Life in Emergency Medicine (ALiEM), to host a public discussion featuring the 2014 Annals article on the association between Press Ganey scores and emergency department (ED) analgesia by Schwartz et al. The objective was to curate a 14-day (December 1 through 14, 2014) worldwide academic dialogue among clinicians in regard to preselected questions about the article. Five online facilitators hosted the multimodal discussion on the ALiEM Web site, Twitter, and Google Hangout. ⋯ Of the unique 169 identified tweets, discussion (53.3%) and learning points (32.5%) were the most common category of tweets identified. Common themes that arose in the open-access multimedia discussions included Press Ganey data validity and the utility of patient satisfaction in determining pain treatment efficacy. This educational approach using social media technologies demonstrates a free, asynchronous means to engage a worldwide scholarly discourse.
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In June 2014, Annals of Emergency Medicine collaborated with the Academic Life in Emergency Medicine (ALiEM) blog-based Web site to host an online discussion session featuring the Annals Residents' Perspective article "The Opioid Prescription Epidemic and the Role of Emergency Medicine" by Poon and Greenwood-Ericksen. This dialogue included a live videocast with the authors and other experts, a detailed discussion on the ALiEM Web site's comment section, and real-time conversations on Twitter. Engagement was tracked through various Web analytic tools, and themes were identified by content curation. ⋯ Four major themes about prescription opioids identified included the following: physician knowledge, inconsistent medical education, balance between overprescribing and effective pain management, and approaches to solutions. Free social media technologies provide a unique opportunity to engage with a diverse community of emergency medicine and non-emergency medicine clinicians, nurses, learners, and even patients. Such technologies may allow more rapid hypothesis generation for future research and more accelerated knowledge translation.