Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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To review the literature for options for integrating injury prevention into the role of out-of-hospital emergency medical services (EMS). ⋯ As changes in the market compel health care systems to focus more on prevention, EMS organizations and individual providers may be assuming new injury prevention roles. Some EMS systems in many parts of the country have incorporated PIP into their work. It is necessary, however, to determine which PIP roles are effective and how they will be supported.
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To identify patterns of nonfatal and fatal penetrating trauma among children and adults in New Mexico using ED and medical examiner data. ⋯ Nonfatal injury data suggest that nonfatal violence has increased; fatal injury data suggest that violent death rates have remained constant. Injury patterns vary by age, mechanism of trauma, and data source. These results suggest that ED and medical examiner data differ and that both are needed to guide injury prevention programs.
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ED injury surveillance requires accurate information about mechanism. This study explored the clinometric properties of an E-code system specifically designed to track ED injuries. ⋯ Injury coding using a truncated E-code system can provide valid and reliable data from the ED. Differences between nurses, physicians, and nosologists in the ability to accurately code using this system were minimal, thus eliminating the need for additional staff and resources.
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1) To determine the prevalence of current alcohol abuse/alcohol dependence (AA/AD) among the full injury range of ED motor vehicle crash (MVC) patients; and 2) compare AA/AD and non-AA/AD patient characteristics. ⋯ Almost 23% of ED MVC patients have current AA/AD; BAC testing does not accurately identify these patients. Intervention strategies must be directed to both admitted and released patients.