The American journal of emergency medicine
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Case Reports
Cease the storm- A case report of successful stellate ganglion block in terminating refractory electrical storm.
An electrical storm also known as a ventricular tachycardia storm (VT storm) tends to recur and form a vicious cycle, eventually leading to a refractory electrical storm, refractory to electrical and pharmacological cardioversion. The treatment of refractory VT storm is challenging. ⋯ On both occasions, it successfully terminated the storm. Hence emergency physicians need to be aware of the right technique and timing of stellate ganglion block and ultrasound-guided needle tracking, as it can be a final rescue technique in treating refractory electrical storm in the emergency department.
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Review
High risk and low prevalence diseases: Stevens Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis.
Stevens Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are serious conditions that carry a high rate of morbidity and mortality. ⋯ An understanding of SJS/TEN can assist emergency clinicians in diagnosing and managing this potentially deadly disease.
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Emergency physicians (EPs) navigate high-pressure environments, making rapid decisions amidst ambiguity. Their choices are informed by a complex interplay of experience, information, and external forces. While cognitive shortcuts (heuristics) expedite assessments, there are multiple ways they can be subtly manipulated, potentially leading to reflexive control: external actors steering EPs' decisions for their own benefit. ⋯ Recognizing these dangers empowers EPs to resist reflexive control through (1) critical thinking: examining information for potential biases and prioritizing evidence-based practices, (2) continuous education: learning about cognitive biases and mitigation strategies, and (3) institutional policies: implementing regulations to reduce external influence and to promote transparency. This vulnerability of emergency medicine decision making highlights the need for awareness, education, and robust ethical frameworks. Understanding reflexive control techniques is crucial for safeguarding patient care and promoting independent, ethical decision making in emergency medicine.
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Mountainous areas pose a challenge for the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) chain of survival. Survival rates for OHCAs in mountainous areas may differ depending on the location. Increased survival has been observed compared to standard location when OHCA occurred on ski slopes. Limited data is available about OHCA in other mountainous areas. The objective was to compare the survival rates with a good neurological outcome of OHCAs occurring on ski slopes (On-S) and off the ski slopes (OffS) compared to other locations (OL). ⋯ OHCAs in ski-slopes conditions were associated with an improvement in neurological outcomes at 30 days, whereas off-slopes OHCAs were not. Ski-slopes rescue patrols are efficient in improving outcomes.
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To assess the association between ambient heat and all-cause and cause-specific emergency department (ED) visits and acute hospitalizations among Medicare beneficiaries in the conterminous United States. ⋯ Among Medicare beneficiaries from 2008 to 2019, exposure to daily mean temperature ≥ 95th percentile was associated with increased risk of heat-related ED visits, with stronger associations seen among beneficiaries <65, males, and patients with low socioeconomic position. Further longitudinal studies are needed to understand the impact of heat duration, intensity, and frequency on cause-specific hospitalization outcomes.