Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
TAKE-PAUSE: Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Virtual Reality as an Intervention in the Pediatric Emergency Department.
Emergency department (ED) visits are known to be anxiety-ridden and stress-provoking experiences especially in the pediatric population. Distraction techniques have been used as a means to reduce anxiety and stress thereby facilitating care in the ED and making the visit less unpleasant. Our study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an active and immersive distraction technique, using a mindfulness-based virtual reality (VR) program (Take-Pause), to alleviate anxiety in pediatric ED patients. ⋯ Take-Pause, offering an active and immersive distraction technique, is more effective than a passive distraction approach to lower anxiety levels in adolescent ED patients.
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Medical research across all fields has historically excluded older adults (aged 65 years and older). Because older adults have a higher burden of chronic illness, respond differently to treatment, and are more prone to medication side effects, the results of current research may not be applicable to this important population. To address this major research deficiency, the National Institutes of Health established the Inclusion Across the Lifespan policy, effective January 2019. We present important considerations and proven strategies for successful inclusion of older adults in emergency care research relating to study design, participant recruitment and retention, and sources of support for investigators.
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Multicenter Study
Comparing post-induction hypoxemia between ramped and supine position endotracheal intubations with apneic oxygenation in the emergency department.
Ramped position and apneic oxygenation are strategies to mitigate hypoxemia; however, the benefits of these strategies when utilized together remain unclear. Therefore, we compared first-attempt, postinduction hypoxemia between adult emergency department (ED) endotracheal intubations performed with apneic oxygenation in the ramped versus supine positions. ⋯ Using this large national data set, we did not identify a difference in postinduction hypoxemia between ramped and supine positions in this cohort of ED intubations with apneic oxygenation.
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There are significantly fewer women than men in leadership roles in health care. Previous studies have shown that, overall, male physicians earn nearly $20,000 more annually than their female physician colleagues after adjusting for confounding factors. However, there has not been a description of physician leadership compensation in relation to gender. ⋯ Female physicians hold fewer leadership roles in academic emergency medicine (EM), and when they do, they work more clinical hours and are paid less than male physicians. As a specialty, EM should continue to investigate and report on gender achievement disparities as work is done to rectify the system inequalities.