Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Hyperglycemia after cerebral ischemia exacerbates brain injury and worsens the outcome of stroke patients. The authors sought to examine the effect of glycemic control on mortality after acute stroke. ⋯ Admission hyperglycemia is associated with a worse outcome after stroke than is euglycemia. Normalization of blood glucose during the first 48 hours of hospitalization appears to confer a potent survival benefit in patients with thromboembolic stroke.
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To describe the characteristics of nonfatal sledding-related injuries in U.S. children resulting in emergency department (ED) visits in 2001/2002 and to explore the implications of these findings for injury prevention efforts. ⋯ Sledding injuries resulting in ED visits predominantly affect children and are a source of measurable morbidity in this population. An increase in injury prevention efforts for this activity is warranted.
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The goal of this study was to examine how physicians in the emergency department ask questions of patients presenting with chest pain and whether this varies by patient demographics. ⋯ The variability in questions about behavioral factors associated with chest pain etiology as reported by patients may indicate a possible cultural bias by physicians. Differences in risk identification may lead to differences in treatment decisions.
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Delta opioids have been shown to confer ischemic preconditioning and pharmacologic ischemic preconditioning to the myocardium. However, their role in providing extended pharmacologic ischemic preconditioning in hemorrhagic shock has not been explored. The authors examined the effects of 24-hour preinfusions of a selective delta opioid receptor agonist, Deltorphin-Dvariant (Delt-Dvar), on hemodynamic stability and duration of survival in a rat model of severe hemorrhagic shock. ⋯ Twenty-four-hour pretreatment with Delt-Dvar decreases plasma lactate levels and improves hemodynamic stability and survival during hemorrhagic shock. The use of delta-specific opioids may improve survival from hemorrhagic shock and have clinical utility in providing ischemic protection in scenarios of planned ischemia.
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Editorial Comment
Stuck in neutral: continued challenges with healthcare disparities.