Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Droperidol (DROP) is used in the emergency department (ED) for sedation, analgesia, and its antiemetic effect. Its ED safety profile has not yet been reported in patients (pts). ⋯ The vast majority of pts who received DROP in the ED did not experience an AE. A few serious AEs were noted following DROP in patients with serious comorbidities; it is not clear that DROP was causative.
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To determine the impact of emergency medicine (EM) faculty presence and an airway management protocol on success rates of tracheal intubation in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ First-attempt intubation success rates and decreased mean time to successful intubation improved following EM faculty presence and the introduction of an airway management protocol.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of triage assessments among pediatric registered nurses and pediatric emergency physicians.
To compare triage level assignments, using simulated written case scenarios, in a pediatric emergency department (ED) among registered nurses (RNs) and pediatric emergency physicians (PEPs) and to compare the triage level assignments among RNs and PEPs with a consensus criterion standard. ⋯ The level of agreement and accuracy of triage assignment was only moderate for both RNs and PEPs. Triage, a crucial step in emergency care, requires improved measurement.
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The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) commissioned an emergency medicine (EM) faculty salary and benefits survey for all 2001 residency review committee (RRC)-EM-accredited programs using the SAEM fifth-generation survey instrument. Responses were collected by SAEM and blinded from the investigators. Data represent compensation paid for the 2001-02 academic year. Seventy-six of 124 (61%) accredited programs responded, yielding usable data on 1,355 full-time faculty representing all four Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) regions. ⋯ Reported salaries for full-time EM residency faculty have risen approximately 8.7% since the last survey. Up to approximately 1,200 clinical hours worked per year, salary varies inversely with clinical hours worked. Total per-faculty patient contact time (overall workload) has grown approximately 13% since the last survey. Patient wait times have increased approximately 27% since the last survey. Significant regional differences in salaries have been present in all five SAEM surveys. Emergency medicine residency faculty continue to work at the upper extremes of patient encounters per physician, patient acuity levels, and department lengths of stay.
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To assess and compare overall satisfaction in pediatric emergency department (ED) patients and their accompanying parents. To identify aspects of health care delivery that influence satisfaction in these groups. ⋯ Satisfaction can be validly and reliably measured in pediatric patients using a visual scale instrument. Factors that influence patient satisfaction were similar among both children and their parents. The influence of pain resolution on pediatric ED satisfaction is a novel finding, which demonstrates the importance of appropriate pain and anxiety assessment and treatment in children.