Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Many factors affect the clinical training experience of emergency medicine (EM) residents, and length of training currently serves as a proxy for clinical experience. Very few studies have been published that provide quantitative information about clinical experience. The goals of this study were to determine the numbers of clinical encounters for each resident in emergency department (ED) rotations during training in a 3-year program, to characterize these encounters by patient acuity and age, to determine the numbers of encounters for selected clinical disorders, and to assess the variation in clinical experience between residents. ⋯ Methods should be developed to decrease resident variance in both numbers and types of clinical encounters and to provide curriculum supplementation for individuals and for the entire residency cohort in areas that are important for the clinical practice of EM, but that are rare or not encountered during residency training.
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Most multisource feedback (MSF) evaluations are performed asynchronously, with raters reflecting on the subject's behavior. Numerous studies have demonstrated poor inter-rater reliability of MSF. This may be due to cognitive biases that are inherent in such a process. We sought to determine if within- and between-rater group reliability is increased when evaluations are gathered synchronously and relate to a specific patient interaction. ⋯ Synchronous collection of MSF did not provide clinically different EM-HS scores within rater groups and did not result in improved correlations. Our small, single-center study supports asynchronous collection of MSF.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A randomized trial of computer kiosk-expedited management of cystitis in the emergency department.
The objective was to assess the efficiency and safety of an interactive computer kiosk module for the management of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTI) in emergency departments (EDs). ⋯ An interactive computer kiosk accurately, efficiently, and safely expedited the management of women with uncomplicated UTI in a busy, urban ED. Expanding the use of this technology to other conditions could help to improve ED patient flow.
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Diagnosing diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) has traditionally required a venous blood gas (VBG) to obtain serum pH and a serum chemistry panel to obtain electrolyte values. Because newer blood gas analyzers have the ability to report electrolyte values and glucose in addition to pH, this diagnostic process could theoretically be condensed. However, neither the diagnostic accuracy of the VBG for DKA nor the agreement between the VBG electrolytes and the serum chemistry electrolytes, including sodium, chloride, and bicarbonate, has been evaluated in the context of acute hyperglycemia. The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of VBG electrolytes for diagnosing DKA using serum chemistry electrolytes measures as the criterion standard and to describe the correlation between VBG and serum chemistry electrolytes in a sample of hyperglycemic patients seen in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ The VBG electrolytes were 97.8% sensitive and 100% specific for the diagnosis of DKA in hyperglycemic patients. These preliminary findings support the use of VBG electrolytes in lieu of VBG along with serum chemistry analysis to rule in or rule out DKA.
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An abnormal field Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of ≤13 has been used in our emergency medical services (EMS) system to prompt transport to a trauma center. For elders, Ohio has recently adopted a GCS of ≤14 to prompt EMS transport to a trauma center, as older patients respond differently to trauma and may benefit from a different GCS threshold. This study sought to determine if a field GCS of 14 is an appropriate cutoff to initiate transport to a trauma center among injured elders. ⋯ Changing the EMS trauma triage cutoff for elders from GCS 13 to GCS 14 results in improved sensitivity for clinically relevant outcomes. In injured elders, the decline in GCS from 15 to 14 is associated with increased mortality, a finding not observed in younger adults. Elders with GCS 14 have greater odds of mortality and TBI than adults with GCS 13. These results support recent changes in EMS trauma triage guidelines for elders adopted in Ohio.