J Emerg Med
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Despite improvements over the past decade, children continue to experience significant pain and distress surrounding invasive procedures in the emergency department (ED). To assess the impact of newly developed interventions, we must create more reliable and valid behavioral assessment tools that have been validated for the unique settings of pediatric EDs. ⋯ We developed a psychometrically sound tool tailored for pediatric ED procedures. Future work could use this measure to better identify behavioral targets and test the effects of interventions to relieve pediatric ED pain and distress.
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Vasopressor medications raise blood pressure through vasoconstriction and are essential in reversing the hypotension seen in many critically ill patients. Previously, vasopressor administration was largely limited to continuous infusions through central venous access. ⋯ Across the categories of shock states, norepinephrine has wide applicability and is a reasonable first-line agent for shock of uncertain etiology. Keeping a broad differential when hypotension is refractory to vasopressors may help to identify adjunctive treatments in physiologic states that impair vasopressor effectiveness. Peripheral administration of vasopressors is safe and facilitates early administration, which may help to improve outcomes in some shock states.
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As the mortality of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is significantly higher than those with mild or moderate severity, it is of clinical significance to identify patients most likely to develop SAP at the time of emergency department (ED) presentation. ⋯ The BISAP and ED-SAS scores performed similarly in predicting SAP, mortality, and intensive care unit admission. As an easily calculated tool early in the ED, ED-SAS may be helpful in disposition decisions for emergency physicians.