Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Comparative Study
On-line telemetry: prospective assessment of accuracy in an all-volunteer emergency medical service system.
To evaluate the need for on-line telemetry control in an all-volunteer, predominantly advanced emergency medical technician (A-EMT) ambulance system. ⋯ In this all-volunteer, predominantly A-EMT ALS system, patients with a field interpretation of a sinus rhythm do not require ECG rhythm transmission. Field interpretations of atrial fibrillation/flutter, supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia, and atrioventricular blocks are frequently incorrect and should continue to be transmitted.
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Comparative Study
Association of drug therapy with survival in cardiac arrest: limited role of advanced cardiac life support drugs.
To generate hypotheses regarding the association of standard Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) drugs with human cardiac arrest survival. ⋯ Initiating cause of arrest, time to ACLS, and duration of ACLS were important correlates of survival. Other than procainaimide, standard ACLS drugs had relatively little association with survival, but timing of administration may be an important factor. Further research using definitive large randomized controlled trials is warranted to assess the role of drug therapy in improving cardiac arrest survival.
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Case Reports
Exertional heat stroke in a young woman: gender differences in response to thermal stress.
Exertional heat stroke (EHS) is an acute life-threatening emergency that necessitates the immediate institution of cooling measures. Reported here is a case of EHS in a nonacclimatized young woman who was undergoing strenuous exercise. ⋯ While EHS is relatively common in young men, the condition is rare in women. This case presentation addresses gender differences in the response to the thermal stress of intense physical activity.
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To survey emergency medicine (EM) residents regarding moonlighting practices and perceptions for clarifying: 1) resident moonlighting remuneration; 2) any association of perceived educational debt with moonlighting income and hours; and 3) perceptions related to moonlighting (including motivations, impact on resident training, and potential medicolegal difficulties). ⋯ Education about EM practice matters including the risks of moonlighting should begin early in residency, because moonlighting is widespread. Residents are vulnerable to medicolegal action while moonlighting and have insufficient knowledge of their malpractice insurance coverage. Although educational debt is perceived as a strong motivating factor for moonlighting, there is only a weak relationship between educational debt and moonlighting hours.