Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Comparative Study
Assessment of Dyspnea Early in Acute Heart Failure: Patient Characteristics and Response Differences Between Likert and Visual Analog Scales.
Dyspnea is the most common symptom in acute heart failure (AHF), yet how to best measure it has not been well defined. Prior studies demonstrate differences in dyspnea improvement across various measurement scales, yet these studies typically enroll patients well after the emergency department (ED) phase of management. ⋯ Predictors of early dyspnea improvement differ from scale to scale, with the exception of baseline dyspnea. Attempts to use one scale to capture the entirety of the dyspnea symptom may be insufficient.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Comparison of Short-term Infusion Regimens of N-Acetylcysteine Plus Intravenous Fluids, Sodium Bicarbonate Plus Intravenous Fluids, and Intravenous Fluids Alone for Prevention of Contrast-induced Nephropathy in the Emergency Department.
There is no evidence regarding the several short-term prophylaxis protocols for contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) that may be most feasibly convenient in emergency settings. ⋯ None of the short-term protocols with normal saline, NAC, or sodium bicarbonate was superior in ED patients requiring contrast-enhanced CT who had a moderate or high risk of CIN.