Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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The exception from informed consent (EFIC) rule was adopted in 1996, permitting waiver of informed consent for certain emergency research, including trials funded by the U.S. government. The rule requires prospective consent from patients or their legally authorized representative(s) (LAR) if practicable. For those enrolled without consent, the patient or their LAR must be given an opportunity to opt out from continued participation at the earliest opportunity. We sought to census the trials conducted under the EFIC rule to facilitate research to better understand how the rule is being used. ⋯ We have compiled a census of trials conducted under the U.S. FDA's EFIC rule, the availability of which we hope will stimulate further in-depth data collection and analysis of this set of trials.
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Review Meta Analysis
Management of atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response in patients with acute decompensated heart failure: A systematic review.
The objective was to evaluate the comparative effectiveness and safety of pharmacological and nonpharmacological management options for atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter with rapid ventricular response (AFRVR) in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) in the acute care setting. ⋯ High-level evidence to inform clinical decision making regarding effective and safe management of AFRVR in patients with ADHF in the acute care setting is lacking.
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Cocaine use results in over 500,000 emergency department (ED) visits annually across the United States and ethanol co-ingestion is reported in 34% of these. Commingling cocaine with ethanol results in the metabolite cocaethylene (CE), which is metabolically active for longer than cocaine alone. Current literature on the cardiotoxicity of CE compared to cocaine alone is limited and lacks consensus. This study aims to fill this gap in the literature and examine cardiovascular events in cocaine use as confirmed by urine toxicology versus CE exposure. ⋯ When compared to cocaine exposure alone, CE exposure in ED patients with acute drug overdose was significantly associated with higher occurrence of cardiac arrest, higher mean lactate concentrations, and lower occurrence of myocardial injury.