Annals of emergency medicine
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The Indian Health Service provides health care to eligible American Indians and Alaskan Natives. No published data exist on emergency services offered by this unique health care system. We seek to determine the characteristics and capabilities of Indian Health Service emergency departments (EDs). ⋯ Indian Health Service EDs varied widely in visit volume, with many operating over capacity. Most were not staffed by board-certified or -prepared emergency physicians. Most lacked access to specialty consultation and telemedicine capabilities.
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The 2 antidotes for acute cyanide poisoning in the United States must be administered by intravenous injection. In the out-of-hospital setting, intravenous injection is not practical, particularly for mass casualties, and intramuscular injection would be preferred. The purpose of this study is to determine whether sodium nitrite and sodium thiosulfate are effective cyanide antidotes when administered by intramuscular injection. ⋯ We conclude that sodium nitrite and sodium thiosulfate administered by intramuscular injection are effective against severe cyanide poisoning in 3 clinically relevant animal models of out-of-hospital emergency care.
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Policymakers increasingly regard centralization of emergency care as a useful measure to improve quality. However, the clinical studies that are used to justify centralization, arguing that volume indicators are a good proxy for quality of care ("practice makes perfect"), have significant shortcomings. In light of the introduction of a new centralization policy in the Netherlands, we show that the use of volume indicators in emergency care is problematic and does not do justice to the daily care provided in emergency departments (EDs). ⋯ The first repertoire of acute and complex care might benefit from centralization. The other 3 repertoires, however, equally deserve attention but are made invisible in policies that focus on the first repertoire and extrapolate the idea of centralization to emergency care as a whole. Emergency care research and policies should take all repertoires into account and pay more attention to alternative measures and indicators beyond volume, eg, patient satisfaction, professional expertise, and collaboration between EDs and other facilities.