Arch Intern Med
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A comparison between emergency diagnostic and treatment unit and inpatient care in the management of acute asthma.
Emergency diagnostic and treatment units (EDTUs) may provide an alternative to hospitalization for patients with reversible diseases, such as asthma, who fail to adequately respond to emergency department therapy. ⋯ Treatment of selected patients with asthma in an EDTU results in the safe discharge of most such patients. This study suggests that quality gains and cost-effective measures can be achieved by the use of such units.
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While prior studies show that combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) report more physical symptoms than veterans without PTSD, the link between PTSD and somatic complaints in Persian Gulf War veterans (PGWVs) is yet to be evaluated. ⋯ Physicians examining PGWVs should be alert to the possibility of PTSD in this group and that those with PTSD are more likely to report physical symptoms that may overlap with those in Persian Gulf syndrome. Consequently, mental health screening is essential, since for those veterans with PTSD diagnosis of other coexisting conditions may be confounded and early effective treatment of their PTSD may be delayed. Also, given the increased reporting of certain symptoms by those with PTSD, those seeking the cause of Persian Gulf syndrome should control for PTSD when determining the symptom cluster that may constitute this condition.