Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Comparison of outcomes of two skills-teaching methods on lay-rescuers' acquisition of infant basic life support skills.
The objective was to determine if lay-rescuers' acquisition of infant basic life support (BLS) skills would be better when skills teaching consisted of videotaping practice and providing feedback on performances, compared to conventional skills-teaching and feedback methods. ⋯ The use of videotaped practice and feedback for the acquisition of overall infant BLS skills and of specific skill sets is effective. Observation and participation in the feedback and assessment of nonexperts attempting infant BLS skills appeared to improve the ability of this group of students to perform the task.
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The initial 12-lead (12L) electrocardiogram (ECG) has low sensitivity to detect myocardial infarction (MI) and acute coronary syndromes (ACS) in the emergency department (ED). Yet, early therapies in these patients have been shown to improve outcomes. ⋯ Among patients without ST elevation on the 12L ECG, the 80L body surface mapping technology detects more patients with MI or ACS than the 12L, while maintaining a high degree of specificity.
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The objectives of this study were to determine concordance of emergency department (ED) management of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with guideline recommendations and to identify ED and patient characteristics predictive of higher guideline concordance. ⋯ Overall ED concordance with guideline-recommended processes of care was low to moderate. Emergency physicians should continue to work with other stakeholders in AMI care, such as emergency medical services (EMS) and cardiologists, to develop strategies to improve care processes.
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Given the time, expense, and radiation exposure associated with computed tomography (CT), ultrasonography (US) is considered an alternative imaging study that could expedite patient care in patients with suspected obstructive uropathy. However, there is a paucity of literature regarding bedside US for obstructive uropathy in the emergency department (ED), and it is unknown how much experience is required for competency in such exams. ⋯ Physicians training in EUS may be able to accurately assess for obstructive uropathy after 30 exams.
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Editorial Comment
Out-of-hospital endotracheal intubation: Are observational data useful?