The American journal of emergency medicine
-
Falls are a significant issue among older adults, leading to morbidity and mortality. Screening for fall risk in the ED is crucial but challenging due to time limitations and patient conditions. Sarcopenia, characterized by muscle loss, is associated with increased fall risk, and ultrasound has been proposed as a non-invasive tool to measure muscle mass in this context. ⋯ The simpler tool, the STEADI questionnaire, may offer more practicality in screening fall risk compared to complex ultrasound measurements or physical performance tests among the older in ED.
-
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), more commonly known as drones, have rapidly become more diverse in capabilities and utilization through technology advancements and affordability. While drones have had significant positive impact on healthcare and consumer delivery particularly in remote and austere environments, Violent Non-State Actors (VNSAs) have increasingly used drones as weapons in planning and executing terrorist attacks resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. We aim to analyze drone-related attacks globally against civilians and critical infrastructure for more effective hospital and prehospital care preparedness. ⋯ Overtime, there were upward trends of drone attacks, with higher lethality and morbidity. There were more injuries compared to fatalities. Most common region affected was the Middle East, and most common type of weapon employed by drone technology was explosive weapon. Investment in medical personnel training, security, and research is crucial for an effective mass-casualty incident response after the drone attacks.
-
A bowel diameter threshold of ≥2.5 cm, originally derived from the research using computed tomography, is frequently used for diagnosing small bowel obstruction (SBO) with point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). We sought to determine the optimal bowel diameter threshold for diagnosing SBO using POCUS and its accuracy in predicting surgical intervention. ⋯ A bowel diameter threshold of 2.75 cm on POCUS is more discriminative diagnostic accuracy for diagnosing SBO. Patients' age and sex may impact diagnostic accuracy, suggesting that tailored approaches may be needed.
-
To evaluate the characteristics and trends of pediatric water bead-related visits to US emergency departments (EDs) using a large national database. ⋯ The number of pediatric water bead-related ED visits is increasing rapidly. Children <5 years old are most commonly involved, usually via water bead ingestion. Increased prevention efforts are needed.
-
Hypothermia is associated with poor outcomes in sepsis patients, and hypothermic sepsis patients exhibit temperature alterations during initial treatment. The objective of this study was to classify hypothermic sepsis patients based on body temperature trajectories and investigate the associations of these patients with 28-day mortality. ⋯ In hypothermic sepsis patients, an increase of 1 °C or more in body temperature after the initial 6 h is associated with a reduced risk of 28-day mortality.