Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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The Wood's lamp (WL) has been used in sexual assault evaluations. Recent data have shown that semen does not fluoresce with a WL and that physicians are unable to differentiate semen from other common medicaments using a WL. ⋯ Physicians instructed in the use of an alternate light source (BM 500) are able to identify semen as fluorescing and can differentiate semen (after a training session) from other commonly used products.
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Baseline electrocardiogram abnormalities and market elevations not associated with myocardial necrosis make accurate diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI) difficult in patients with cocaine-associated chest pain. Troponin sampling may offer greater diagnostic utility in these patients. ⋯ Most patients with cTnI elevations meet CK-MB criteria for MI, as well as have a high incidence of underlying significant disease. Troponin appears to have an equivalent diagnostic accuracy compared with CK-MB for diagnosing necrosis in patients with cocaine-associated chest pain and suspected MI.
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Ethnic and racial differences in the provision of emergency department (ED) analgesia for long-bone fractures have recently been reported in two large cities. The authors sought to determine, in a third city, whether nonwhite patients with long-bone fractures were less likely to receive analgesics than white patients with similar injuries. ⋯ In contrast to two recently reported studies, at this urban trauma center and teaching hospital ED, there was no difference in the administration of analgesics to white and nonwhite patients with long-bone fractures.