The American journal of emergency medicine
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Letter Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Comparative analysis of incapacitated versus forcible sexual assault in a community-based population.
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An intubation in the Emergency Department (ED) would never occur without suction set up and tested. However, due to the complexity and inherent failure potential of these devices, even checked suction devices can fail at a crucial juncture. We present a case report of suction that worked properly during pre-intubation preparation, but critically failed due to inappropriate set up. This situation is an example of a dangerous dormant failure that can easily reoccur in any ED.
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To document the level of interobserver agreement and compare the diagnostic performances of emergency physicians and radiologists at interpreting low radiation CT images of acute appendicitis in adolescents and young adults. ⋯ The emergency physicians and radiologists showed good interobserver agreement and comparable diagnostic performances for appendicitis in adolescents and adults using low-dose CT images. Low-dose CT could be a useful tool for the diagnosis of appendicitis by emergency physicians.
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Dysphagia is a common problem for patients after an acute stroke which can lead to hospital acquired pneumonia (HAP) increasing morbidity and mortality. The Joint Commission has directed that stroke certified hospitals perform a dysphagia screen at the time of initial presentation. We sought to evaluate if our ED dysphagia screen was correlated with lower rates of pneumonia in acute stroke patients. ⋯ The use of our ED dysphagia screen was associated with a significant reduction in the rates of HAP in both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients. Given the high rates of dysphagia and significant comorbidity and complications for these stroke patients, the use of a screen is warranted.