Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Significant sex and gender differences in both physiology and psychology are readily acknowledged between men and women; however, data are lacking regarding differences in their responses to injury and treatment and in their ultimate recovery and survival. These variations remain particularly poorly defined within the field of cardiovascular resuscitation. A better understanding of the interaction between these important factors may soon allow us to dramatically improve outcomes in disease processes that currently carry a dismal prognosis, such as sudden cardiac arrest. ⋯ We combined a monthly teleconference meeting of interdisciplinary stakeholders from largely academic institutions with a focused interest in cardiovascular outcomes research, an extensive review of the existing literature, and an open breakout session discussion on the recommendations at the consensus conference to establish a prioritization of the knowledge gaps and relevant research questions in this area. We identified six priority research areas: 1) out-of-hospital cardiac arrest epidemiology and outcome, 2) customized resuscitation drugs, 3) treatment role for sex steroids, 4) targeted temperature management and hypothermia, 5) withdrawal of care after cardiac arrest, and 6) cardiopulmonary resuscitation training and implementation. We believe that exploring these key topics and identifying relevant questions may directly lead to improved understanding of sex- and gender-specific issues seen in cardiac resuscitation and ultimately improved patient outcomes.
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To the best of the authors' knowledge, gender differences in nonmedical opioid presentations to the emergency department (ED) have not been studied. The objective was to explore gender differences in ED visits related to nonmedical prescription opioid use in a nationally representative sample. ⋯ Gender differences exist in ED presentations related to prescription opioids. Further research is needed to understand these differences and any implications for gender-specific emergency care and brief interventions.
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Traumatic injury remains an unacceptably high contributor to morbidity and mortality rates across the United States. Gender-specific research in trauma and emergency resuscitation has become a rising priority. ⋯ Nominal group technique was used for the consensus-building process and a combination of face-to-face meetings, monthly conference calls, e-mail discussions, and preconference surveys were used to refine the research questions. The resulting research agenda focuses on opportunities to improve patient outcomes by expanding research in sex- and gender-specific emergency care in the field of traumatic injury and resuscitation.
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The primary objective of this study was to determine whether patient-described pain correlates with patient-described stress, anxiety, and satisfaction with ongoing treatment and if that correlation differs by gender. ⋯ Patient-reported stress and anxiety were higher among female patients than male patients, but there was no significant difference in reported pain and satisfaction between sexes. Sex alone was not a significant predictor of change in pain for patients presenting to the emergency department with pain-related complaints. Anxiety and stress may potentially influence the pain-gender relationship.
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Early antibiotics reduce mortality in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. Recent work demonstrated that women experience greater delays to antibiotic administration, but it is unknown if this relationship remains after adjusting for factors such as source of infection. ⋯ Women experience longer delays to initial antibiotics among patients with severe sepsis or septic shock, even after adjusting for infectious source. Pneumonia was associated with shorter times to antibiotic administration. Future research is necessary to investigate contributors to delayed antibiotic administration in women.