J Emerg Med
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Violence in the emergency department (ED) setting is well documented in medical literature. Weapons can be used to cause significant injury or mortality, although there is a paucity of literature on weapons and weapons screening in the ED. ⋯ Implementation of weapons screening significantly increased the number of weapons identified and confiscated prior to entry in the ED by patients and visitors.
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Observational Study
Comparison of Prognostic Scores for Patients with COVID-19 Presenting with Dyspnea in the Emergency Department.
Easy-to-use bedside risk assessment is crucial for patients with COVID-19 in the overcrowded emergency department (ED). ⋯ Emergency physicians can effectively use S/F, ROX, and NEWS scores for rapid risk stratification of patients with COVID-19 infection. Moreover, from the perspective of simplicity and ease of calculation, we recommend the use of the S/F ratio.
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Comment Letter Randomized Controlled Trial
The Effect of Ketamine Versus Etomidate for Rapid Sequence Intubation on Maximum Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score: A Randomized Clinical Trial; Some Concerns.
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Serum sickness secondary to rabies postexposure prophylaxis is not well documented in the medical literature. Our case describes serum sickness after exposure to human-derived rabies immunoglobulin (HRIG) and three human diploid rabies vaccines (HDCV) in a young adult male. ⋯ A 30-year-old previously healthy male patient presented to the Emergency Department with complaints of fever, rash, and jaundice, and had a hospital course complicated by biliary stenosis likely secondary to reactive periportal lymphadenopathy. His initial laboratory values demonstrated obstructive jaundice and slightly elevated complement component 4 levels. These symptoms likely are due to the course of HRIG and HDCV vaccines the patient completed after being exposed to a rabies-positive bat in his home. The patient was hospitalized for 8 days, during which he underwent an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography with sphincterotomy and biliary stenting. He had one repeat hospitalization for acute blood loss anemia attributed to sphincterotomy, which did not require transfusion or further intervention. Liver biopsy showed cholestatic hepatitis. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Medical literature describing serum sickness or a serum sickness-like reaction occurring from exposure to HRIG or HDCV is sparse despite the commonality of postexposure rabies prophylaxis in health care. It is important to educate practitioners on this potential complication and highlight next potential consultations and treatments.
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On August 4, 2020, Lebanon suffered its largest mass casualty incident (MCI) to date: the Beirut Port blast. Hospital emergency response to MCIs is particularly challenging in low- and middle-income countries, where emergency medical services are not well developed and where hospitals have to rapidly scale up capacity to receive large influxes of casualties. This article describes the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) response to the Beirut Port blast and outlines the lessons learned. ⋯ Hospital MCI preparedness plans can integrate several strategies that are effective in quickly scaling up capacity to respond to large MCIs. These are especially necessary in countries that lack coordinated prehospital systems.