Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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To report cardiac arrest demographics and assess whether arrest rate is associated with differences in intracity regional population densities, incomes, or race distributions. ⋯ The association of lower income with cardiac arrest suggests that cardiac health promotion and EMS intervention measures, including CPR instruction, should be targeted to lower-income neighborhoods. These findings may help explain previous studies suggesting a racial or population density association with cardiac arrest rates.
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To determine whether a certain distance measurement on the oral endotracheal tube (ETT) at the corner of the mouth could reasonably ensure proper depth of placement in critically ill patients, without the immediate need for a confirming chest x-ray (CXR). ⋯ Proper depth of ETT placement in the critically ill adult patient can be estimated by the technique of this study. In this adult patient population, corner-of-the-mouth placement of the ETT using the 21-cm tube mark for the women and the 23-cm mark for the men would have led to proper placement for most patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A comparative study of the percutaneous versus intraoral technique for mental nerve block.
Mental nerve block is frequently used to aid repair of facial lacerations; both percutaneous and intraoral approaches to blocking this nerve are used, but have never been compared. The authors compared the two techniques for pain of administration and effectiveness of anesthesia. ⋯ The intraoral approach to the mental nerve block with adjunctive topical anesthesia was subjectively and objectively less painful than the percutaneous approach without adjunctive anesthesia. While the intraoral approach had a greater efficacy of lower-lip anesthesia and a longer duration of action, these differences were not statistically significant.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Comparison of intraoral and percutaneous approaches for infraorbital nerve block.
The infraorbital nerve block is frequently used during repair of facial lacerations; both percutaneous and intraoral approaches are used. The authors compared the two techniques for pain of administration and anesthetic effectiveness. ⋯ The intraoral approach to the infraorbital nerve block after adjunctive topical anesthesia appeared at least as effective in producing upper-lip anesthesia as the percutaneous approach without adjunctive topical anesthesia. Although the volunteers subjectively preferred the intraoral approach and visual-analog pain scores were lower for this approach, these differences did not achieve statistical significance. The intraoral approach was associated with a longer duration of upper-lip anesthesia.
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To determine the safety of percutaneous central venous access when used for trauma resuscitation and whether the initial hemodynamic status of the patient or the site of placement affects the ease or success of line placement. ⋯ Percutaneous central venous access is relatively safe and reliable for gaining intravenous access when resuscitating trauma patients, when used in a center where physicians are experienced in the technique. Consideration should be given to expanding the use of central venous access in trauma resuscitation.