Articles: emergency-department.
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The aims of the study were to identify the characteristics of elderly frequent attenders to the emergency department (ED) presenting with chest pain and to assess the 1-year prognosis for developing adverse cardiac events. ⋯ Elderly frequent attenders to the ED, who present with chest pain, have more cardiac risk factors and are more likely to develop adverse coronary outcomes if they re-attend with chest pain.
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Dyspnea is one of the most frequent complaints in the Emergency Department. Thoracic ultrasound should help to differentiate cardiogenic from non-cardiogenic causes of dyspnea. We evaluated whether the diagnostic accuracy can be improved by adding a point-of-care-ultrasonography (POC-US) to routine exams and if an early use of this technique produces any advantage. ⋯ Adding POC-US to routine exams improves the diagnostic accuracy of dyspnea and reduces errors in the Emergency Department.
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ABSTRACTIntroduction:Not all patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) receiving cardiac troponin (cTn) testing present to the emergency department (ED) with cardiac chest pain. Since elderly patients (age ≥ 70) have increased morbidity and mortality associated with ACS, complaints other than cardiac chest pain may justify cTn testing. Our primary objective was to characterize the population of ED patients who receive cTn testing. ⋯ Conclusions:Cardiac chest pain and shortness of breath are presenting complaints in one-third of patients undergoing ED cTn testing. The majority of patients undergoing cTn testing did not have typical ACS symptoms. Half of all cTn testing in the ED is on the elderly, who present with different complaints than their younger counterparts.
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The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of sublingual buprenorphine with intravenous morphine sulfate for acute renal colic in the emergency department. ⋯ Sublingual buprenorphine (2 mg) is as effective as morphine sulfate (0.1 mg/kg) in acute renal colic pain management.
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Based on previous studies, cardiovascular diseases, traffic accidents, traumas and cancers are the most important etiology of mortalities in emergency departments (ED). However, contradictory findings have been reported in relation to mortality in emergency departments. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the role of clinical factors in mortality among patients referring to an emergency department in a third-level hospital in Tehran, Iran. ⋯ It appears the odds of mortality in patients referring to ED with cardiovascular complaints, a history of hypertensive, severe trauma, age over 60 and a final diagnosis of renal disease are higher versus other patients. In addition, the patients' odds of death increase with an increase in the number of risk factors. Such an increase is more noticeable at age over 60.