Articles: emergency-medicine.
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Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · May 2023
ReviewEmergency Medicine Considerations in the Transgender Patient.
Transgender patients are at high risk for poor health outcomes and many harbor fear of healthcare settings secondary to prior discrimination, perceived sensationalism, clinician unfamiliarity, and unwanted exams. It is essential to approach transgender patients without judgement and with empathy. Asking open ended questions with explanation as to why your questions are pertinent to their specific care will help create rapport and trust. Through a basic working knowledge of terminology, types of hormone therapy, non-surgical techniques, garments, and surgical procedures typically encountered by such patients, and their respective potential side effects and complications, clinicians can provide quality care to transgender patients.
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Pregnancy is a time of tremendous physiologic change and vulnerability. At any point, symptoms and complications can prompt the need for emergency care, and these can range from minor to life-threatening. ⋯ To optimally care for these patients, it is paramount to be aware of the unique physiologic changes that occur during pregnancy. The focus of this review is to discuss illnesses unique to pregnancy and additional aspects of resuscitation that must be considered when caring for a critically ill pregnant patient.
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Observational Study
Variability in Emergency Department Procedure Rates and Distributions in a Regional Health System: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study.
Procedural competency is essential to the practice of emergency medicine. However, there are limited data quantifying emergency department procedural volumes to inform the work of educators and credentialing bodies. In this study, we characterize procedural scope and volume in a regional health care system and compare rates between practice settings and over time. ⋯ All procedures were performed in all settings and rates of several emergent procedures were similar in both settings, underscoring the importance of broad procedural competence for all emergency physicians. Educators and credentialing organizations can use these data to inform decisions regarding curriculum design and certification requirements.
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Pediatric emergency care · May 2023
Identification of Papilledema in Pediatric Patients With Meningitis Using Ocular Point-of-Care Ultrasound.
Ocular point-of-care ultrasound is used by physicians for an array of diagnoses. In this case series, we describe how pediatric emergency medicine physicians utilized ocular point-of-care ultrasound in the management of patients with papilledema secondary to meningitis or its treatment.
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Thoracic trauma is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in children exposed to blast and early recognition of these injuries is vital. While numerous studies have investigated the sensitivity of chest X-ray (CXR) for the detection of chest injury in blunt trauma, none have evaluated its performance in paediatric blast injury. ⋯ CXR has a poor sensitivity for the identification of significant thoracic injury in children exposed to blast. We argue that, given the challenge of clinical assessment of injured children and the potential for serious adverse consequences of missed thoracic injuries, there should be a low threshold for the use of CT chest in the evaluation of children exposed to blast.