The American journal of emergency medicine
-
The aim of the study was to investigate racial/ethnic differences in emergency care for patients with joint dislocation. ⋯ Black patients presenting to the ED with joint dislocations received lower quality of care in some, but not all, areas compared with white patients. Future interventions should target these areas to eliminate racial disparities in dislocation care.
-
The aim of the study was to determine whether the number of procedures performed by residents and medical students in the emergency department (ED) is affected by ED crowding. ⋯ Crowding was not significantly associated with the number of procedures availed to ED trainees. In patients being considered for admission, however, when the managing EP felt that it was crowded, there was an association with giving procedures to consulting services.
-
The goal of this study is to identify clinical variables associated with bacteremia. Such data could provide a rational basis for blood culture testing in emergency department (ED) patients with suspected infection. ⋯ This study identified several clinical factors associated with bacteremia as well as MRSA and Gram-negative subtypes, but the magnitude of their associations is limited. Combining these covariates into a multivariable model moderately increases their predictive value.
-
The aim of this study was to assess the performance of 3 different influenza-like illness (ILI) case definitions, adopted by the European (European-CDC), USA (USA-CDC), and Taiwan Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (Taiwan-CDC), as screening tools for influenza during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. ⋯ First-line physicians should recognize the advantage and limitation of different ILI case definitions in influenza screening, especially confronted by pandemic or highly pathogenic avian influenza in the future.
-
A 46-year-old man was transferred to the emergency department and suspected of having a deep vein thrombosis. The patient reported swelling and pain in both lower legs for 16 hours. His medical history included liver cirrhosis secondary to alcohol. ⋯ At 1 day after the death, a blood culture confirmed the clinical diagnosis of Vibrio vulnificus. Emergency physicians should consider Vibrio vulnificus infections in patients with sepsis and severe skin lesions and should assess (from the medical history) risk factors including consumption of raw seafood and direct exposure to seawater. Prompt diagnosis and treatment for Vibrio vulnificus infections can significantly improve the outcome.