Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Examination of the ocular fundus is imperative in many acute medical and neurologic conditions, but direct ophthalmoscopy by nonophthalmologists is underutilized, poorly performed, and difficult without pharmacologic pupillary dilation. The objective was to examine the feasibility of nonmydriatic fundus photography as a clinical alternative to direct ophthalmoscopy by emergency physicians (EPs). ⋯ Nonmydriatic fundus photography taken by nurse practitioners is a feasible alternative to direct ophthalmoscopy in the ED. It is performed well by nonphysician staff, is well-received by staff and patients, and requires a trivial amount of time to perform.
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The primary study aim was to examine the variations in crowding when an emergency department (ED) initiates ambulance diversion. ⋯ There was marked variation in ED workload rates and whether or not ambulance diversion occurred during a 24-hour period. This variability in initiating ambulance diversion suggests different or inconsistently applied decision-making criteria for initiating diversion.
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The objectives were to identify patient and hospital characteristics associated with the use of computed tomography (CT) imaging of the cervical spine (c-spine) in the evaluation of injured children and, in particular, to examine the influence of hospital setting. ⋯ Cervical spine CT imaging for children discharged from the ED with trauma diagnoses increased from 2005 through 2009. Older age and evaluation outside a Level I pediatric trauma center were associated with a higher c-spine CT rate. Educational interventions focused outside pediatric trauma centers may be an effective approach to decreasing CT imaging of the c-spine of pediatric trauma patients.
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Few tools exist that provide objective accurate prediction of short-term mortality risk in patients presenting with acute heart failure (AHF). The purpose was to describe the accuracy of several biomarkers for predicting short-term death rates in patients diagnosed with AHF in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ MR-proADM and copeptin, alone or in combination, may provide superior short-term mortality prediction compared to natriuretic peptides and troponin. Presented results are explorative due to the limited number of events, but validation in larger trials seems promising.
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The objective was to determine whether serial bedside visual estimates of left ventricular systolic function (LVF) and respiratory variation of the inferior vena cava (IVC) diameter would agree with quantitative measurements of LVF and caval index in hypotensive emergency department (ED) patients during fluid challenges. The authors hypothesized that there would be moderate inter-rater agreement on the visual estimates. ⋯ This study showed that serial visual estimations of the respiratory variation of IVC diameter and LVF agreed with bedside measurements of caval index and LVF during early fluid challenges to symptomatic hypotensive ED patients. There was moderate inter-rater agreement in both visual estimates. In addition, acute volume loading was associated with detectable acute changes in IVC measurements.