Articles: emergency-services.
-
The approach emergency medical service (EMS) systems take to quality assurance and quality improvement is evolving rapidly. Methods of quality assurance that have been applied to the prehospital care environment are reviewed. Impediments to effective quality assurance strategies are discussed and an overview of the scope of the activities and resources necessary to perform this task is presented. The potential efficacy and limitations of quality improvement in EMS are also discussed.
-
Case Reports Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Acute cardiac ischemia in patients with syncope: importance of the initial electrocardiogram.
To determine the prevalence of acute cardiac ischemia in emergency department (ED) syncope patients without chest pain and to determine which of these patients are at high risk for acute cardiac ischemia. ⋯ For syncope patients who have no chest pain or ischemic abnormality on the presenting ECG in the ED, acute ischemia appears to be unlikely. Admission to the cardiac care unit for these patients for possible myocardial ischemia is probably unnecessary. However, patients who have syncope and ischemic abnormalities on the ECG are at risk for acute cardiac ischemia, even in the absence of chest pain. Hospital admission to rule out myocardial infarction for these patients is prudent.