The American journal of emergency medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Absence of QT prolongation after administration of a 24-mg bimodal-release ondansetron pill (RHB-102).
Prospective data evaluating the effect of ondansetron on the corrected QT (QTc) interval is lacking in emergency department clinical use. As part of a randomized trial of a 24-mg bimodal-release ondansetron (RHB-102) pill, we tested the effect of RHB-102 compared to placebo on QTc change. ⋯ In patients with normal baseline QTc, 24-mg bimodal-release ondansetron did not prolong the QTc in comparison to placebo.
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Review Meta Analysis
Body mass index and all-cause mortality in patients with cardiogenic shock: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
The association between body mass index (BMI) and all-cause mortality of patients with Cardiogenic Shock (CS) is still controversial. The objective of this analysis is to summarize the available evidence of this association and perform meta-analysis using adjusted estimates. ⋯ Obesity was associated with increased adjusted all-cause mortality of patients with Cardiogenic Shock when compared to non-obese. Unexplained heterogeneity and suboptimal quality of studies limit the strength of the results. This seemingly paradoxical finding needs to be confirmed with further research.
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Observational Study
Impact of the modified SESAME ultrasound protocol implementation on patients with cardiac arrest in the emergency department.
Point-of-care (POC) ultrasound protocols are commonly used for the initial management of patients with cardiac arrest in the emergency department (ED). However, there is little published evidence regarding any mortality benefit. We compared and studied the effect of implementation of the modified SESAME protocol in terms of clinical outcomes and resuscitation management. ⋯ We did not discover any significant survival benefits associated with the implementation of the modified SESAME protocol; however, early diagnosis of specific pathologies (pericardial effusion, possible pulmonary embolism, tension pneumothorax, and hypovolemia) and accordingly a direct increase in the resuscitation management were seen in this study. Future studies with larger sample sizes are required to examine the clinical outcomes as well as to identify the most effective POC ultrasonography protocols for non-traumatic cardiac arrests.
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Multicenter Study
Surviving traumatic cardiac arrest: Identification of factors associated with survival.
The endpoint of resuscitative interventions after traumatic injury resulting in cardiopulmonary arrest varies across institutions and even among providers. The purpose of this study was to examine survival characteristics in patients suffering torso trauma with no recorded vital signs (VS) in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ Over a recent nine-year period in the United States, nearly 25,000 trauma patients were treated at trauma centers despite lack of VS. Of these patients, only 73 were discharged home. A trauma center would have to attempt over one hundred resuscitations of traumatic arrests to save one patient, confirming previous reports that highlight a grave prognosis. This creates a dilemma in treatment for front line workers and physicians with resource utilization and consideration of safety of exposure, particularly in the face of COVID-19.
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Multicenter Study
Effect of COVID19 on prehospital pronouncements and ED visits for stroke and myocardial infarction.
The Novel Coronavirus19 (COVID19) arrived in northern New Jersey (NJ) in early March 2020, peaked at the beginning of April, and then declined. Starting in March, some patients who called 911 and required advanced life support (ALS) may have decompensated more rapidly than would have been expected, possibly because of concomitant COVID19 infection and/or delays in seeking medical care because of fear of exposure to the virus, and social isolation. In this study, our goal was to determine if there was an increase in prehospital ALS pronouncements and a decrease in ED visits for potentially serious conditions such as MI and stroke during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in northern NJ. ⋯ Following the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in northern NJ, we found pre-hospital ALS death pronouncements increased and ED visits for MI and stroke decreased. Although we have speculated about the reasons for these findings, further studies are needed to determine what the actual causes were.