Articles: emergency-department.
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Our primary objective was to assess the agreement between urine pregnancy tests done in the emergency department (ED) and those done by the Calgary Laboratory Services (CLS). Our secondary objective was to compare turnaround times for tests done in the ED and those done in the laboratory. ⋯ ED nurses can perform urine pregnancy tests as accurately as laboratory technicians, and can provide results on which to base care much faster than the laboratory can. Point-of-care urine pregnancy testing may expedite the ED management of patients who require pregnancy tests.
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Food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis (FDEIA) is a specific variant of exercise-induced anaphylaxis that requires both vigorous physical activity and the ingestion of specific foods within the preceding several hours. When patients present to the emergency department (ED) with allergic reactions, careful history regarding these 2 factors is required to establish the correct diagnosis. Correct diagnosis of FDEIA will allow patients to take control of their lifestyles and avert repeated events and ED visits. Two cases of FDEIA are presented, and the diagnosis, pathophysiology and therapy of food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis are reviewed.
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We conducted a qualitative systematic review to evaluate the efficacy and safety of propofol for direct current cardioversion (DCC), rapid sequence intubation (RSI) and procedural sedation in adult emergency department (ED) patients. ⋯ The body of literature evaluating propofol for DCC and RSI in the ED is limited. There is evidence to support the use of propofol for DCC and RSI, but this evidence comes from stable patients in non-ED settings. Further ED-based randomized comparative trials should be conducted before propofol is adopted for widespread use in the ED.
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Acute upper gastrointestinal (UGI) hemorrhage is a common, often serious condition encountered in the emergency department (ED). Previous research has suggested that transfusion of blood products may interfere with the hypercoagulable state induced by significant blood loss. Our objective was to determine whether the frequency of rebleeding is higher in patients with UGI bleeding who have received early blood transfusion. ⋯ Our results support previous research suggesting that transfused UGI bleed patients have a higher rate of rebleeding. However, because of the retrospective design, causality cannot be inferred.