Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Comparative Study
Electrocardiogram differentiation of benign early repolarization versus acute myocardial infarction by emergency physicians and cardiologists.
ST-segment elevation (STE) related to benign early repolarization (BER), a common normal variant, can be difficult to distinguish from acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The authors compared the electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretations of these two entities by emergency physicians (EPs) and cardiologists. ⋯ Although correct interpretation was high in both groups, cardiologists, who had significantly more years of practice, had fewer misinterpretations than EPs in distinguishing BER from AMI electrocardiographically.
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The authors sought to determine the contribution of delays in care on time to antibiotics for patients admitted from the emergency department (ED) with pneumonia and to identify patients at risk for delayed antibiotics. ⋯ Antibiotic delays for patients admitted with pneumonia occur across multiple care processes. Less severely ill patients and patients with nonclassic presentations are at higher risk for delayed antibiotic administration. Hospitals should consider performing a similar analysis to evaluate hospital-specific and patient-specific care delays.
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Comparative Study
Emergency department sexually transmitted disease and human immunodeficiency virus screening: findings from a national survey.
To use a previously conducted national physician survey to determine the extent of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted disease (STD) screening by emergency physicians compared with physicians practicing in other settings (primary care offices, hospital ambulatory care clinics, or other). ⋯ Although prior research has shown that STD and HIV rates are relatively high in emergency department patients compared with the population as a whole, screening rates are lower than in other settings. Addressing barriers may increase screening rates.
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Editorial Comment
Narrowing in on JCAHO recommendations for community-acquired pneumonia.