Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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Airway management checklists have improved paediatric patient safety in some clinical settings, but consensus on the appropriate components to include on a checklist for paediatric tracheal intubation in the ED is lacking. ⋯ Using the modified Delphi method, consensus was established among airway management experts around essential components for an airway management checklist intended for paediatric tracheal intubation in the ED.
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Patients experiencing early pregnancy loss often first present to the emergency department (ED) where they can be managed non-operatively through expectant or medical management, or surgically by the obstetrical team. Studies have reported that physician gender can influence clinical decision making, but there is limited research on this phenomenon in the ED. The objective of this study was to determine whether emergency physician gender is associated with early pregnancy loss management. ⋯ Patients seen by female emergency physicians had higher rates of obstetrical consultation and initial operative management compared with those seen by male emergency physicians, but outcomes were similar. Additional research is required to determine why these gender differences exist and how these discrepancies may impact the care of early pregnancy loss patients.
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Meta Analysis
Cervical spine movements during laryngoscopy and orotracheal intubation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Airway management is challenging in trauma patients because of the fear of worsening cervical spinal cord damage. Video-integrated and optic-integrated devices and intubation laryngeal mask airways have been proposed as alternatives to direct laryngoscopy with the Macintosh laryngoscope (MAC). We performed a meta-analysis to clarify which devices cause less cervical movement during airway management. ⋯ Compared with the MAC, alternative devices caused less movement during laryngoscopy (C0-C4) and intubation (C0-C3). Due to the high risk of bias and the very low grade of evidence of the studies, further research is necessary to clarify the benefit of each device and to determine the efficacy of cervical immobilisation during airway management.