European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Cardiac arrhythmia, specifically paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), accounts for a substantial proportion of emergency medical services resources utilisation. Reconversion requires increasing the atrioventricular node's refractoriness, which can be achieved by vagal manoeuvres, pharmacological agents or electrical cardioversion. There are multiple variants of vagal manoeuvres, including the Valsalva manoeuvre (VM). While the effectiveness of the standard VM has already been systematically reviewed, there has been no such analysis for the modified VM. ⋯ The available evidence is highly suggestive to support the use of the modified VM compared to the standard VM in the treatment of adult patients with SVT. Meta-analysis showed a higher success rate, required less medication use, and resulted in an equal number of adverse events. However, these results cannot be regarded as definitive in the absence of higher-quality studies.
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Observational Study
Organ failure, aetiology and 7-day all-cause mortality among acute adult patients on arrival to an emergency department: a hospital-based cohort study.
Organ failure is both a frequent and dangerous condition among adult patients on arrival to an emergency department (ED). The risk of an unfavourable outcome could depend on the underlying aetiology. Knowledge of the relation between aetiology and prognosis could improve the risk stratification at arrival. ⋯ Infection was the most prevalent aetiology, and 7-day all-cause mortality was highly associated with the site of organ failure and aetiology.
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Palpitation is one of the commonest presenting complaints to the emergency department (ED). Diagnosis depends on capturing an ECG during the episode. Unlike syncope, patients retain consciousness and therefore their ability to activate an ECG event recorder. The Investigation of Palpitation in the ED study demonstrated Food and Drug Administration approved AliveCor/Kardia device that links to a smartphone app was safe and effective. A Smartphone Palpitation and Pre-syncope Ambulatory Care Clinic was therefore established. ⋯ There were 17 cardiac diagnoses (7.2%). The cost per symptomatic rhythm diagnosis was 358 GBP (~415 Euro) and the cost per cardiac dysrhythmia diagnosis was 4570 GBP (~5298 Euro). A smartphone-based event recorder clinic should be considered for ED palpitation patients.