Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Comparative Study
Reduction in observation unit length of stay with coronary computed tomography angiography depends on time of emergency department presentation.
Prior studies demonstrating shorter length of stay (LOS) from coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) relative to stress testing in emergency department (ED) patients have not considered time of patient presentation. The objectives of this study were to determine whether low-risk chest pain patients receiving stress testing or CCTA have differences in ED plus observation unit (OU) LOS and if there are disparities in testing modality use, based on the time of patient presentation to the ED. ⋯ In an OU setting with weekday and standard business hours CCTA availability, CCTA testing was associated with shorter LOS among low-risk chest pain patients only in patients presenting to the ED between 08:00 and 11:59 hours. That time period was also associated with a greater likelihood of being tested by CCTA, suggesting that ED providers may have intuited the inability of CCTA to shorten LOS during other times.
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The lumbar puncture (LP) is a procedural competency deemed necessary by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the Emergency Medicine and Pediatric Residency Review Committees. The emergency department (ED) is a primary site for residents to be evaluated performing neonatal LPs. Current evaluation methods lack validity evidence as assessment tools. ⋯ The OSATS-LP has reasonable evidence in four of the five sources for test validity. This study serves as a launching point for using this tool in clinical environments such as the ED and, therefore, has the potential to provide real-time formative and summative feedback to improve resident skills and ultimately lead to improvements in patient care.
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Many patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are not candidates for rhythm control and may require rate control, typically with beta-blocking (BB) or calcium channel blocking (CCB) agents. Although these patients appear to have a low 30-day rate of stroke or death, it is unclear if one class of agent is safer or more effective. The objective was to determine whether BBs or CCBs would have a lower hospital admission rate and to measure 30-day safety outcomes including stroke, death, and emergency department (ED) revisits. ⋯ In this cohort of ED patients with AF and no acute underlying medical illness who underwent rate control only, patients receiving CCBs had similar hospital admission rates to those receiving BBs, while both classes of medications appeared equally safe at 30 days. Both CCBs and BBs are acceptable options for rate control.
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Guideline
Pediatric emergency medicine fellow training in ultrasound: consensus educational guidelines.
The importance of point-of-care emergency ultrasound (EUS) to the practice of emergency medicine (EM) is well established, and mounting research continues to demonstrate how EUS can benefit pediatric emergency department (ED) patients. As members of the EM community, pediatric EM (PEM) physicians should understand the potential value of EUS and seek opportunities to incorporate EUS into their daily practice. Currently, EUS education and training is at an early developmental stage for PEM fellows and varies greatly between programs. ⋯ The authors recognize that programs may be at different stages of EUS development and will consequently need to tailor curricula to individual institutional needs and capabilities. This guideline was developed through a collaborative process between EUS educators and members of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section of EM Fellowship Directors Subcommittee. The guideline includes the following topics: important considerations regarding EUS in PEM, PEM US program framework, PEM US curriculum, PEM US education program, and competency assessment.
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The purpose of this study was to derive a pilot clinical decision tool with 100% negative predictive value for testicular torsion based on prospectively collected data in children with acute scrotal pain. ⋯ Based on a decision tool derived with recursive partitioning, study patients with all of the following characteristics had no risk of testicular torsion: normal testicular lie, lack of nausea or vomiting, and age 0 to 10 years. Future research should focus on externally validating this tool to optimize emergent evaluation when testicular torsion is likely, while minimizing routine sonographic evaluation when patients are unlikely to have a serious condition requiring immediate management.