Articles: emergency-department.
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Review Meta Analysis
Adjuvant anticholinergic therapy for the prevention of akathisia in patients with primary headache in the emergency department: a systematic review.
Adjunct therapy with anticholinergic agents has been proposed to reduce the incidence of extrapyramidal side effects such as akathisia following treatment with neuroleptics or metoclopramide. This systematic review assessed the effectiveness of anticholinergic agents to prevent neuroleptic or metoclopramide-induced akathisia in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with benign headache. ⋯ This review found insufficient evidence to recommend the use of diphenhydramine as an adjunct therapy to prevent akathisia in ED patients treated with neuroleptics or metoclopramide for primary headache. This finding relies on the results of two small randomized controlled trials with incomplete outcome reporting. Additional high-quality studies are needed to better understand the clinical efficacy of agents with anticholinergic properties in the ED management of patients with primary headaches.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Analgesic and Anxiolytic Effects of Virtual Reality During Minor Procedures in an Emergency Department: A Randomized Controlled Study.
We aimed to assess the analgesic and anxiolytic efficacy of distraction, a nonpharmacologic intervention provided by 3-dimensional (3D) virtual reality (VR) compared with that provided by 2-dimensional (2D) VR during minor emergency department (ED) procedures. ⋯ During minor procedures in adult patients in the ED, distraction by viewing a 3D virtual world in a head-mounted VR display did not result in lower average levels of procedural pain and anxiety than that by 2D viewing on a screen despite a higher sense of telepresence. There were no significant differences in the prevalence and intensity of cybersickness between the 2 groups.
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Pediatric emergency care · Jan 2023
Impact of a Faster Computed Tomography Scanner on Sedation for Pediatric Head Computed Tomography Scans in 2 Large Emergency Departments-A Retrospective Study.
Children in the emergency department (ED) often require sedation for head computed tomography (CT) to ensure adequate image quality. Image acquisition time for a head CT using a conventional single-source CT scanner is approximately 12 seconds; however, after installation in November 2017 of 2 new dual-source dual-energy CT scanners, that time decreased to 1 to 3 seconds. We hypothesized that fewer patients would require sedation using the faster CT scanners. ⋯ After installation of a dual-source dual-energy CT scanner, fewer patients required sedation to complete head CT in the pediatric ED. Faster image acquisition time decreased the need for deep sedation.
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To describe characteristics and outcomes of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients with new supplemental oxygen requirements discharged from a large public urban emergency department (ED) with supplemental oxygen. ⋯ COVID-19 patients with new supplemental oxygen requirements discharged from the ED had survival comparable to COVID-19 ED patients with mild exertional hypoxia treated with supplemental oxygen in other settings, and this held true when the analysis was restricted to patients with nadir ED index visit oxygen saturations <90%. Discharge of select COVID-19 patients with supplemental oxygen from the ED may provide a viable alternative to hospitalization, particularly when inpatient capacity is limited.
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Whether ambulance transport patterns are optimized to match children to high-readiness emergency departments (EDs) and the resulting effect on survival are unknown. We quantified the number of children transported by 9-1-1 emergency medical services (EMS) to high-readiness EDs, additional children within 30 minutes of a high-readiness ED, and the estimated effect on survival. ⋯ Approximately half of children transported by EMS were taken to high-readiness EDs and an additional one quarter could have been transported to such an ED, with measurable effect on survival.