Articles: emergency-medicine.
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Pediatric emergency care · Oct 1996
Confidence in performance of pediatric emergency medicine procedures by community emergency practitioners.
To survey a cohort of physicians who work in general community emergency departments (ED) in order to assess their comfort levels in performing urgent and emergent medical procedures on children. ⋯ While emergency physicians within the catchment area of a tertiary care children's hospital feel comfortable with most pediatric procedures, they express a significant degree of discomfort with many potentially life-saving skills. Because of the infrequent need for many of these interventions in children, the high levels of discomfort are not surprising. These procedures may most comfortably be performed at pediatric centers but can be accomplished well at all EDs if personnel are adequately trained. A strong working relationship with pediatric emergency centers and an enhanced teaching of these procedures may increase comfort levels with these potentially life-saving measures.
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To determine emergency physicians' (EPs') attitudes toward physician-assisted suicide (PAS), factors associated with those attitudes, current experiences with attempted suicides in terminally ill persons, and concerns about the impact of legalizing PAS on emergency medicine practice. ⋯ Although the majority of Oregon EPs favor the concept of legalization of PAS, most have concerns that safeguards in the Oregon initiative are inadequate to protect vulnerable patients. These physicians would consider not resuscitating terminally ill patients who have attempted suicide under the law's provisions, only in the setting of documentation of the patient's intent.
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Pediatric emergency care · Oct 1996
ReviewThe laryngeal mask airway: a review for the emergency physician.
The laryngeal mask airway has recently been released as a adjunct to airway management. It has gained widespread acceptance as an alternative to the face mask for the provision of general anesthesia. The LMA is available in various sizes for use in every age and weight patient (Table 1). ⋯ While it is used frequently in the operating room as a replacement for the anesthesia mask, its role outside of the operating room may include an adjunct in the management of the difficult airway. In this setting it may be used as a guide to blind endotracheal intubation or for fiberoptic-guided intubation. More importantly, it may be life-saving in the cannot intubate/cannot ventilate scenario.