J Emerg Med
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Review
Best Clinical Practice: Emergency Medicine Management of Stable Monomorphic Ventricular Tachycardia.
Ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation are the causes of approximately 300,000 deaths per year in the United States. VT is classified based on hemodynamic status and appearance. Stable, monomorphic VT treatment is controversial. ⋯ Optimal management of stable, monomorphic VT includes direct current cardioversion. If medical management is chosen, procainamide is most efficacious, though current literature suffers from poor design.
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Respiratory events requiring the use of assisted ventilation are relatively common in the emergency department (ED), and can be associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. ⋯ Patient with acute respiratory compromise in the ED had an in-hospital mortality of 34% in the current study. These patients also have a high risk of progressing to cardiac arrest, with a subsequent increase in in-hospital mortality to 82%. Potentially reversible characteristics, such as hypotension before the event, showed a strong association to in-hospital mortality, along with multiple other patient and event characteristics.