J Emerg Med
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Recently, a reluctance of lay and medical personnel to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation (MMR) in hospital and community settings has been documented, with 45% of respondents declining to perform MMR on a stranger. In the present study, we examined whether the perceived risk and fear of contracting infectious diseases diminishes the willingness of paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to perform MMR. Seventy-seven EMTs and 27 paramedics responded to a questionnaire, administered by one of two physicians, containing mock cardiac arrest scenarios that were designed to assess willingness to perform MMR as a citizen responder. ⋯ Despite the proven effectiveness of MMR in saving lives, paramedics and EMTs are highly reluctant to perform MMR as citizen responders. Their perceived risks of contracting infectious agents during MMR are high, despite the low actual risks. We recommend that instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation for providers of pre-hospital care, the medical community, and the general public should emphasize the benefits of providing MMR, the actual low risks of contracting infectious diseases during administration of MMR, and the use of widely available and effective barrier masks to minimize any risks due to administration of MMR.
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Review Case Reports
Mediastinal teratoma presenting as massive hemoptysis in an adult.
Massive hemoptysis is a rare but potentially life-threatening presentation in the emergency department (ED). We describe a case of massive hemoptysis caused by a mediastinal teratoma in an otherwise healthy young man. ⋯ A differential diagnosis for massive hemoptysis is presented. The initial management of these patients in the ED and the diagnostic options are discussed.
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Previous studies have suggested that most emergency department (ED) patients who leave without being seen by a physician (LWBS) are nonurgent. Our institution developed a fast-track process to reduce length of stay (LOS) for these patients. The present study was conducted to determine the effect of reducing LOS on the number of ED patients who leave without seeing a physician and the acuity of this subset of ED patients. ⋯ Of these, 35 were nonurgent and 16 were urgent. There was a significant decrease in the LWBS proportion after the CQI process was implemented. We conclude that (1) reducing LOS is associated with a decrease in the number of ED patients who leave without seeing a physician and (2) many patients who leave without being seen are classified as urgent at presentation.
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The electrical defibrillator has been proven to be a life-saving device in the treatment of cardiac arrest due to ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. An understanding of the physiology and technology behind this device is useful for providers of emergency care. ⋯ The physiology and the technical considerations will make up the bulk of the discussion. The latest developments in electrical defibrillation also will be reviewed.
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Emergency departments offer a unique educational setting where housestaff can be exposed to and learn a variety of procedural skills. However, procedural skills are often overlooked as an assumed activity without a formal educational context. The clinical educator's understanding of the educational principals of teaching and learning procedural skills is minimal. ⋯ The "psychomotor domain," which represents a hierarchy of learning motor skills, and relevant motor learning theory extracted from the educational psychology literature are reviewed. These theoretical considerations can be adapted to and provide useful information relevant to procedural medicine. Issues of curriculum content, methods of teaching and learning, and issues of competence relevant to the creation of a procedural skill program are reviewed and discussed.