The American journal of emergency medicine
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Multicenter Study
Associations between initial serum pH value and outcomes of pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is one of the most critical conditions seen in the emergency department (ED). Although initial serum pH value is reported to be associated with outcome in adult OHCA patients, the association is unclear in pediatric OHCA patients. Thus, we aimed to identify the association between initial pH value and outcome among pediatric OHCA patients. ⋯ This study demonstrated the association between the initial pH value on hospital arrival and 1-month survival among pediatric OHCA patients.
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Multicenter Study
Multi-center implementation of automated age-adjusted D-dimer results reduces unnecessary PE imaging.
Several previous studies have investigated the clinical utility of age-adjusted D-dimer cutoffs for diagnosing pulmonary embolism (PE). ⋯ Implementation of an automated age-adjusted D-dimer positive reference value reduced CT and V/Q imaging in this population by 4.4% while increasing test accuracy in a regional, heterogeneous six-hospital system.
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Multicenter Study
Antibiotic prescribing for adult bacteriuria and pyuria in community hospital emergency departments.
To describe emergency department (ED) antibiotic prescribing for urinary tract infections (UTIs) and asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) and to identify improvement opportunities. ⋯ Among reviewed patients, poor UTI prescribing in 16 EDs resulted in unnecessary antibiotic days and preventable readmissions. Key areas for improvement include non-treatment of ASB and shorter durations for cystitis.