The American journal of emergency medicine
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Observational Study
Long-term survival of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients with malignancy.
The aim of this study was to investigate whether the 1-year survival rate of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients with malignancy was different from that of those without malignancy. ⋯ Although survival to admission, survival to discharge and discharge with a good CPC rate were not different, the 1-year survival rate was significantly lower in OHCA patients with malignancy than in those without malignancy.
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Sedative-hypnotic medications (e.g., Benzodiazepines [BZDs] and non-benzodiazepine receptor agonists [nBZRAs]) are associated with adverse events, especially in the elderly, that may require emergency department (ED) treatment. This study assessed outcomes from ED visits attributed to BZDs and/or nBZRAs, and variations in these associations by age group. ⋯ Findings highlight the need for clinical and regulatory initiatives to reduce BZD use, especially in combination with nBZRAs, and to promote treatment with safer alternatives to these medications.
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The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) measured on non-contrast head computed tomography (CT) and the diagnosis and prognosis of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) on emergency department (ED) patients. ⋯ In patients with spontaneous SAH, the ONSD measured in the orbital sections of a head CT is strongly correlated with a SAH diagnosis. Assessment of ONSD in head CTs taken with spontaneous SAH suspicion may contribute to the diagnoses of spontaneous SAH.
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Size 9 and 8 airways for men and women, respectively, have been proposed as most appropriate based on endoscopy. However, a limitation of this guideline is that ventilation was not assessed. ⋯ With respect to adequate ventilation in conjunction with an acceptable endoscopic view, size 9 and size 8 oropharyngeal airways appear to be the most appropriate sizes for clinical use in men and women, respectively.
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Observational Study
Effects of repeated epinephrine administration and administer timing on witnessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients.
Repeated administration of epinephrine is associated with unfavorable cerebral outcome after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA), but the timing of epinephrine administration has not been considered. ⋯ Repeated epinephrine administration improved CPC 1-2 outcome when epinephrine was administrated within 20min after an emergency call for witnessed cardiogenic OHCA.