Southern medical journal
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Southern medical journal · Dec 2020
Does Point-of-Care Ultrasound Affect Outcomes in Pediatric Patients with Skin and Soft Tissue Infections?
There is increasing evidence for the use of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in pediatric patients with skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI), but there is a lack of sufficient data on its impact on SSTI outcomes. The objective of this study was to determine whether POCUS use is associated with fewer complications after discharge from the pediatric emergency department. ⋯ POCUS use may lead to fewer procedures, but it does not lead to significantly better outcomes. Large randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm or refute our findings.
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Southern medical journal · Dec 2020
Hospital Annual Delivery Volume and Presence of Graduate Medical Education Influence Mode of Delivery after Stillbirth.
To evaluate the statewide experience in mode of delivery for pregnancies complicated by stillbirth by annual delivery volume and presence of graduate medical education programs. ⋯ Annual hospital delivery volumes and residency teaching programs in obstetrics influence the mode of delivery in the management of stillbirth. Advancing gestational age, Black race, and parity are associated with an increased risk of cesarean delivery after stillbirth.
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Southern medical journal · Dec 2020
Central Venous Catheter Confirmation by Ultrasonography: A Novel Instructional Protocol.
Ultrasound (US)-only confirmation of central venous catheter (CVC) placement has proven to be accurate and fast when compared with the current standard chest radiograph. This procedure depends on the detection of appropriately timed atrial bubbles during central line flushing, called the rapid atrial swirl sign (RASS). The most obvious barrier to increasing the use of this technique is appropriate education and training; therefore, we proposed a novel educational approach to training emergency department (ED) physicians in the confirmation of CVC location using US and then tested its effectiveness. ⋯ The use of US to confirm central line placement can be effectively taught to ED physicians using short didactic and simulation-based training. This is a reasonable approach to integrate this protocol into practice, and allow for more widespread use of this emerging technique.