Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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To determine the morningness-eveningness (ME) distribution of emergency medicine (EM) residents. ⋯ EM residents are distributed differently from the normal population in terms of their ME preferences, tending slightly toward eveningness. The importance of this distribution in EM residents in unknown. A longitudinal follow-up of this cohort may help to determine the association of ME preference with overall practice satisfaction, tolerance of shift work, and career longevity.
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To use existing data sources to refine prior estimates of the U.S. emergency medicine (EM) workforce and to estimate effects of proposed changes in the U.S. health care system on the EM workforce. ⋯ Although the current data on EPs in practice in the United States are incomplete, the authors project a relative shortage of EPs. More accurate and complete information on the numbers and distribution of EPs in America is needed to improve workforce projections.
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To determine the potential utility of cytokine and arachidonic acid metabolite levels in ED patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) as a predictor of progression to severe sepsis. ⋯ While mean levels were significantly elevated when compared with those of normal control subjects, they had limited ability to predict the subset of patients likely to progress to severe sepsis. However, initial low levels of cytokines may have exclusionary prognostic value. Prospective validation of the latter finding is warranted.
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To examine the pattern of nontrauma cranial CT use in an urban ED, to identify the rate of significant CT abnormalities in this setting, and to develop criteria for restricting the ordering of CT scans. ⋯ Clinically significant CT abnormalities were uncommon in this study population, suggesting that current criteria for ordering nontrauma cranial CT scans may be too liberal. In this study, a set of clinical criteria was derived that may be useful at separating patients into high- and low-risk categories for clinically significant cranial CT abnormalities. Before these results are applied clinically, these criteria should be validated in larger, prospective studies.
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An SAEM national task force previously concluded that academic departments and residencies in emergency medicine (EM) had preferentially developed outside of the academic mainstream. This study was designed to determine whether EM has made significant inroads into academic medical centers over the past 5 years. ⋯ EM has made substantial inroads into academic medical centers over the past 5 years. This is reflected in quantitatively and statistically significant increases in academic departments and university-hospital residency programs, both occurring largely within institutions whose academic rankings place them among the upper half of all LCME-accredited medical schools.