The American journal of emergency medicine
-
Patients with heart failure exacerbation can present in a variety of ways, including sympathetic crashing acute pulmonary edema (SCAPE). Emergency physicians play a key role in the diagnosis and management of this condition. ⋯ An understanding of the current literature concerning SCAPE can assist emergency clinicians and improve the care of these patients.
-
Droperidol is a dopamine-2 receptor antagonist in the class of butyrophenone antipsychotics with antiemetic, sedative, analgesic, and anxiolytic properties. In the postoperative setting, droperidol provides an opioid sparing effect and decreases nausea/vomiting. Another butyrophenone antipsychotic, haloperidol, has been shown to reduce morphine milliequivalents (MME) administered when used for abdominal pain in the emergency department (ED). The purpose of this study is to evaluate if the use of droperidol for undifferentiated abdominal pain reduces the amount of MME administered in the ED. ⋯ Among patients presenting to the ED for abdominal pain, droperidol administration resulted in a significant reduction in MME administration. Future research should include prospective studies, comparison of droperidol to haloperidol, and investigate droperidol use beyond the ED for these encounters.