Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Does IV Acetaminophen Reduce Opioid Requirement in Pediatric Emergency Department Patients with Acute Sickle Cell Crises?
We evaluated the ability of intravenous (IV) acetaminophen to reduce the amount of opioid medication administered in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) having vasoocclusive crisis (VOC) in an emergency department (ED) setting. ⋯ In this study, patients who received IV acetaminophen did not receive less morphine than patients in the placebo group. Disposition pain scores for the two groups were also equivalent. We conclude that IV acetaminophen, when used in addition to morphine for pediatric sickle cell VOC pain, does not provide an opioid-sparing effect. Further searches for adjunctive nonaddictive pain medicines are indicated.
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We describe the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)-Clinical Practice Screener's ability to predict suicide and emergency department (ED) visits for self-harm in the year following an ED encounter. ⋯ The C-SSRS screener is insensitive to suicide risk after ED discharge. Most patients who died by suicide screened negative and did not receive psychiatric services in the ED. Moreover, most patients with suicidal ideation died by causes other than suicide. The screener was more sensitive for predicting nonfatal self-harm and may inform a comprehensive risk assessment. These results compel us to reimagine the provision of emergency psychiatric services.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A randomized, noninferiority, controlled trial of two doses of intravenous subdissociative ketamine for analgesia in the emergency department.
This study aimed to determine if 0.15 mg/kg intravenous (IV) subdissociative ketamine is noninferior to 0.3 mg/kg in emergency department (ED) patients with acute pain. ⋯ Our data did not detect a large difference in analgesia or adverse effect profile between 0.15 mg/kg IV ketamine and 0.30 mg/kg in the short-term treatment of acute pain in the ED.
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Pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and heart failure (HF) exacerbations can present similarly in the older adult in the Emergency Department (ED), leading to sub-optimal treatment from over- and under-diagnosis. There may be a role for antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in improving the accurate diagnosis of pneumonia in these patients. ⋯ Emergency physicians continue to have poor diagnostic accuracy in dyspneic older adult patients. Serum AMP levels are one potential tool to improve diagnostic accuracy and outcomes for this important population and require further study.
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The validated Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) prediction rules are meant to aid clinicians in safely reducing unwarranted imaging in children with minor head injuries (MHI). Even so, computed tomography (CT) scan utilization remains high, especially in intermediate-risk (per PECARN) MHI patients. The primary objective of this quality improvement initiative was to reduce CT utilization rates in the intermediate-risk MHI patients. ⋯ Our multifaceted quality improvement initiative was both safe and effective in reducing our CT utilization rates in children with intermediate-risk MHI.