Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Human patient simulation is effective for teaching paramedic students endotracheal intubation.
The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether the endotracheal intubation (ETI) success rate is different among paramedic students trained on a human patient simulator versus on human subjects in the operating room (OR). ⋯ When tested in the OR, paramedic students who were trained in ETI on a simulator are as effective as students who trained on human subjects. The results support using simulators to teach ETI.
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To assess emergency physician reporting patterns in Oregon before and after the passage of a mandatory intoxicated driving reporting law. ⋯ Although 44% of responding emergency physicians in Oregon were unaware of a mandated reporting law for intoxicated drivers presenting to the ED, most physicians stated an increase in their reporting practice.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Laser-assisted anesthesia prior to intravenous cannulation in volunteers: a randomized, controlled trial.
Intravenous cannulation is common and painful. Absorption of topical anesthetics is limited by the stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the epidermis. A single pulse of an erbium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Er:YAG) laser irradiation can remove an area of the stratum corneum, leading to enhanced uptake of topical agents, such as lidocaine, while leaving the rest of the epidermis intact. ⋯ Pretreatment of the skin with a laser device followed by a 5-minute topical lidocaine application reduces the pain of IV cannulation in volunteers.
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Comparative Study
Performance of the pediatric glasgow coma scale in children with blunt head trauma.
To compare the accuracy of a pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score in preverbal children with blunt head trauma with the standard GCS score in older children. ⋯ This pediatric GCS for children 2 years and younger compares favorably with the standard GCS in the evaluation of children with blunt head trauma. The pediatric GCS is particularly accurate in evaluating preverbal children with blunt head trauma with regard to the need for acute intervention.
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To determine the sensitivity and specificity of a brief two-question depression screen for the detection of depression in older emergency department (ED) patients, and to determine the prevalence of depression in this population. ⋯ Depression is fairly prevalent in older ED patients. The brief two-question depression screen, using a cutoff score of at least one positive response, is promising for ED use. However, given lower specificity, patients scoring positive for depression should be followed up with a more specific tool such as the self-administered SFGDS prior to referral for further evaluation and treatment.