BMC emergency medicine
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BMC emergency medicine · Jan 2006
Validation of the Ottawa Ankle Rules in Iran: a prospective survey.
Acute ankle injuries are one of the most common reasons for presenting to emergency departments, but only a small percentage of patients--approximately 15%--have clinically significant fractures. However, these patients are almost always referred for radiography. The Ottawa Ankle Rules (OARs) have been designed to reduce the number of unnecessary radiographs ordered for these patients. The objective of this study was to validate the OARs in the Iranian population. ⋯ OARs are very accurate and highly sensitive tools for detecting ankle fractures. Implementation of these rules would lead to significant reduction in the number of radiographs, costs, radiation exposure and waiting times in emergency departments.
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BMC emergency medicine · Jan 2006
End expiratory oxygen concentrations to predict central venous oxygen saturation: an observational pilot study.
A non-invasive surrogate measurement for central venous oxygen saturation (ScVO2) would be useful in the ED for assessing therapeutic interventions in critically ill patients. We hypothesized that either linear or nonlinear mathematical manipulation of the partial pressure of oxygen in breath at end expiration (EtO2) would accurately predict ScVO2. ⋯ We found no significant correlation between EtO2 and ScVO2. A linear equation incorporating EtCO2 and EtO2 had at best modest predictive accuracy for ScVO2.
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BMC emergency medicine · Jan 2006
The insecure airway: a comparison of knots and commercial devices for securing endotracheal tubes.
Endotracheal Tubes (ETTs) are commonly secured using adhesive tape, cloth tape, or commercial devices. The objectives of the study were (1) To compare degrees of movement of ETTs secured with 6 different commercial devices and (2) To compare movement of ETTs secured with cloth tape tied with 3 different knots (hitches). ⋯ Among devices tested, the Dale was most secure. Within the scope offered by the small sample sizes, there were no statistically significant differences between the knots in this study.