The American journal of emergency medicine
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Observational Study
Prognostic value of lactate in prehospital care as a predictor of early mortality.
Prehospital Emergency Medical Services must attend to patients with complex physiopathological situations with little data and in the shortest possible time. The objective of this work was to study lactic acid values and their usefulness in the prehospital setting to help in clinical decision-making. ⋯ The level of lactic acid can be a complementary tool in the field of prehospital emergencies that will guide us early in the detection of critical patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Intranasal ketamine reduces pain of digital nerve block; a double blind randomized clinical trial.
Low dose ketamine can be used as analgesic in acute pain management in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ The findings of this study suggest that IN ketamine can be effective in reducing pain in patients with acute pain, without adding significant side effects.
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Observational Study
A National Dataset Analysis of older adults in emergency department observation units.
Emergency Department (ED) Observation Units (Obs Units) are prevalent in the US, but little is known regarding older adults in observation. Our objective was to describe the Obs Units nationally and observation patients with specific attention to differences in care with increasing age. ⋯ Older adults are more likely to be cared for in Obs Units. Older adults are treated for different medical conditions than younger adults.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Differences in patient population and length of stay between freestanding and hospital-based emergency departments.
Freestanding emergency departments (FEDs) represent over 10% of emergency departments (EDs) in the United States. Little is known about differences in encounter characteristics. We compared ED length of stay (LOS) clinical demographics, method of arrival, acuity level, and patient disposition for encounters to FEDs vs. hospital-based EDs (HBEDs). ⋯ Overall ED LOS was significantly less for FED vs. HBED patients. Acuity level, insurance status, method of arrival, and patient disposition were significantly different at FEDs vs. HBEDs.
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Observational Study
Effect of hypoxia on mortality and disability in traumatic brain injury according to shock status: A cross-sectional analysis.
This study aimed to test the association between hypoxia level and outcomes according to shock status in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. ⋯ There was a trend toward worsened outcomes with mild and severe hypoxia in patient with and without shock, however, the only met statistical significance for patients with both severe hypoxia and non-shock status.