Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Comparative Study
A survey of academic departments of emergency medicine regarding operation and clinical practice: two years later.
To survey academic departments of emergency medicine (ADEMs) concerning their operation and clinical practice. ⋯ ADEMs continue to experience some very positive trends, namely, increases in ED patient volume, in severity of patient illness, and in net clinical revenue.
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To assess public views on emergency exception to informed consent in resuscitation research, public awareness of such studies, and effective methods of community consultation and public notification. ⋯ Most respondents disagreed with foregoing prospective informed consent for research participation even in emergency situations; however, many would be willing to participate in studies using emergency exception from informed consent. Most respondents would not attend community meetings, and would prefer to rely upon the media for information. Very few were aware of emergency exception from informed consent studies in their community. This suggests that current methods of community notification may not be effective.
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To assess the accuracy of emergency physicians and trainees in the interpretation of noncontrast helical computed tomography (NCHCT) for suspected renal colic by examining the interrater reliability between emergency department (ED) clinicians and radiologists. ⋯ Emergency clinicians are able to identify renal calculi with a high degree of accuracy but may miss important nonrenal abnormalities. Therefore, all patients without evidence of renal tract calculus on NCHCT must have early and appropriate follow-up.
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This article summarizes discussions held during a conference on outcomes research in emergency medical services for children. It provides detailed information on existing outcome measures for pediatric minor head injury. Benefits and/or limitations in their applicability for use in pediatric emergency medicine and pediatric minor head injury research are highlighted.