The latest medical research on Emergency Medicine

The research magnet gathers the latest research from around the web, based on your specialty area. Below you will find a sample of some of the most recent articles from reputable medical journals about emergency medicine gathered by our medical AI research bot.

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Timing and causes of death to 1 year among children presenting to emergency departments.

Academic Emergency Medicine

A better characterization of deaths in children following emergency care is needed to inform timely interventions. This study aimed to describe the timing, location, and causes of death to 1 year among a cohort of injured and medically ill children.

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of children <18 years requiring emergency care in six states from January 1, 2012, through December 31, 2017, with follow-up through December 31, 2018, for patients who were not discharged from the emergency department (ED). In this cohort, 1-year mortality, time to death within 1 year, and causes of death were assessed from ED, inpatient, and vital status records.

There were 546,044 children during the 6-year period. The 1-year mortality rate was 2.2% (n = 1356) for injured children and 1.4% (n = 6687) for medically ill children. Matched death certificates were available for 861 (63.5%) of 1356 deaths in the injury cohort and for 4712 (70.5%) of 6687 deaths in the medical cohort. Among deaths in the injury cohort, 1274 (94.0%) occurred in the ED or hospital. The most common causes of death were motor vehicle collisions, firearm injuries, and pedestrian injuries. Among the 6687 deaths in the medical cohort, 5081 (76.0%) children died in the ED or hospital (primarily in the ED) and 1606 (24.0%) occurred after hospital discharge. The most common causes of death were sudden infant death syndrome, suffocation and drowning, and congenital conditions.

The 1-year mortality of children presenting to an ED is 2.2% for injured children and 1.4% for medically ill children with most deaths occurring in the ED. Future interventional trials, quality improvement efforts, and health policy focused in the ED could have the potential to improve outcomes of pediatric patients.

The Barriers to Recognizing and Reporting Child Physical Abuse by Emergency Physicians and Associated Factors.

Pediatric Emergency Care

Although the reporting rate of child abuse is increasing every year, the child abuse detection rate is 3.81% as of 2019 in Korea, which is significantly lower than that of developed countries for child rights.

We investigated the associated factors with barriers that emergency physicians face in recognizing and reporting cases of child abuse.

From May to July 2022, 240 emergency physicians working in the 15 emergency department were asked to participate in the survey via email. The questionnaire included the respondent's basic information, treatment experience for child abuse, reasons for reporting or not reporting, and opinions on measures to increase the reporting rate. We conducted a logistic regression analysis to discern the factors contributing to underreporting.

Seventy-one individuals were included in the analysis, after excluding those who had never encountered suspected cases of child abuse. A multivariable logistic regression was performed with the above variables, and although it was not statistically significant, there was a tendency for workers to report well when working at a pediatric emergency department (odds ratio [95% confidence interval], 3.97 [0.98-16.09]). The primary reason for reporting suspected abuse was the pattern of damage suspected of abuse. The first reason for not reporting suspected abuse was because they were not sure it was child abuse. Respondents answered that to report better, a quick and appropriate response from the police and confidentiality of the reporter were needed.

Physicians in pediatric emergency departments demonstrated a tendency for more proactive reporting suspected cases of child abuse.

Molecular Point-of-Care Testing in the Emergency Department for Group A Streptococcus Pharyngitis: A Randomized Trial.

Pediatric Emergency Care

To compare clinical and health systems outcomes of rapid molecular testing versus throat culture recovery for the management of group A Streptococcus (GAS) pharyngitis in a pediatric emergency department (PED).

We conducted a single-center randomized trial of children (3-17 years) presenting to a PED with suspected GAS pharyngitis. A single dual-headed throat swab was collected, and participants were randomized to 1 of 2 parallel treatment groups with 1:1 allocation: point-of-care (POC) nucleic acid amplification testing or standard throat culture. The primary outcomes were time to throat pain +/- fever resolution. Secondary outcomes included absenteeism, length of stay, return visits to care, and antibiotic prescriptions and utilization.

A total of 227 children were randomly assigned to culture (n = 115) or POC (n = 112) testing. Antibiotics were initiated earlier in the POC group by approximately 1 day (95% confidence interval, -0.40 to -1.58). No associated difference in time to throat pain or fever resolution was observed between groups. There was a decrease in the proportion of prescribed antibiotics in the POC group (0.35) compared with the culture group (0.79; P < 0.001). Otherwise, no significant differences in secondary outcomes were observed.

Establishing a POC nucleic acid amplification testing program for GAS in a PED facilitates earlier treatment and fewer antibiotic prescriptions. Although this did not translate to improved clinical and health systems outcomes in our study, it may serve as an important tool amid evolving pediatric febrile illnesses and growing antimicrobial resistance patterns.

The emergency department trigger tool: Multicenter trigger query validation.

Academic Emergency Medicine

We previously described derivation and validation of the emergency department trigger tool (EDTT) for adverse event (AE) detection. As the first step in our multicenter study of the tool, we validated our computerized screen for triggers against manual review, establishing our use of this automated process for selecting records to review for AEs.

This is a retrospective observational study of visits to three urban, academic EDs over 18 months by patients ≥ 18 years old. We reviewed 912 records: 852 with at least one of 34 triggers found by the query and 60 records with none. Two first-level reviewers per site each manually screened for triggers. After completion, computerized query results were revealed, and reviewers could revise their findings. Second-level reviewers arbitrated discrepancies. We compare automated versus manual screening by positive and negative predictive values (PPVs, NPVs), present population trigger frequencies, proportions of records triggered, and how often manual ratings were changed to conform with the query.

Trigger frequencies ranged from common (>25%) to rare (1/1000) were comparable at U.S. sites and slightly lower at the Canadian site. Proportions of triggered records ranged from 31% to 49.4%. Overall query PPV was 95.4%; NPV was 99.2%. PPVs for individual trigger queries exceeded 90% for 28-31 triggers/site and NPVs were >90% for all but three triggers at one site. Inter-rater reliability was excellent, with disagreement on manual screening results less than 5% of the time. Overall, reviewers amended their findings 1.5% of the time when discordant with query findings, more often when the query was positive than when negative (47% vs. 23%).

The EDTT trigger query performed very well compared to manual review. With some expected variability, trigger frequencies were similar across sites and proportions of triggered records ranged 31%-49%. This demonstrates the feasibility and generalizability of implementing the EDTT query, providing a solid foundation for testing the triggers' utility in detecting AEs.

A Pilot Project of a Post Discharge Care Team for Firearm Injury Survivors Decreases Emergency Department Utilization, Hospital Readmission Days, and Cost.

Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery

Persons of low socioeconomic status are overrepresented in the firearm injury patient population and may experience challenges in accessing complex outpatient health systems. Consequently, outpatient care for these patients is plagued by poor follow-up and increased emergency department (ED) utilization. We developed a Post Discharge Care Team (PDCT) consisting of a dedicated trauma nurse navigator and medical social worker to bridge the gap between hospital discharge and outpatient care to improve recovery.

Original Research, Quality Improvement, 2.

In the first six months of the study, a total of 44 patients were randomized to PDCT and 47 to SOC. There were 10 patients who visited the ED in the PDCT group compared to 16 in the SOC group (p = 0.23) for a total of 14 and 23 ED visits, respectively. There were 14 patients in the PDCT and 11 patients in the SOC groups who were readmitted (p = 0.31), but the PDCT group was readmitted for 27.9 fewer hospital days. After accounting for programmatic costs, the PDCT had a hospital savings of $34,542.71.

A collaborative, specialized Post Discharge Care Team for firearm injury survivors consisting of a dedicated trauma nurse navigator and medical social worker decreased outpatient ED utilization, readmission days, and was cost effective. Trauma centers with high volumes of penetrating trauma should consider a similar model to improve outpatient care for firearm injury survivors.

Bullet holes: A novel model to identify the most impactful gaps in the firearm homicide prevention laws of each state.

Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery

Firearm homicides (FH) are a major cause of mortality in the United States (US). Firearm law implementation is variable across states, and legislative gaps may represent opportunities for FH prevention. For each state, we sought to identify which firearm law category would have been most effective if implemented and how effective it would have been.

Level III, Prognostic/Epidemiological.

FH rates varied widely across states and increased from a mean of 3.2 (SD = 1.7) to 4.2 (SD = 2.9) FH per 100,000. All law categories were significantly associated with decreased FH rate (p < 0.05), with IRR ranging from 0.25-0.85. The most effective missing law category differed between states but was most commonly child access prevention (34.09% of states), assault weapons and large-capacity magazines (15.91%), preemption (15.91%), and concealed carry permitting (13.64%). In total across 2010-2019, we estimated that 129,599 fewer FH would have occurred with enactment of the most effective missing law category in each state.

Modeling firearm law prevention of FH with regard to state legislative and population characteristics can identify the highest impact missing law categories in each state. These results can be used to inform efforts to reduce FH.

Prevalence and Outcomes of High versus Low Ratio Plasma to Red Blood Cell Resuscitation in a Multi-Institutional Cohort of Severely Injured Children.

Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery

The benefit of targeting high ratio fresh frozen plasma (FFP):red blood cell (RBC) transfusion in pediatric trauma resuscitation is unclear as existing studies are limited to patients who retrospectively met criteria for massive transfusion. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of high ratio FFP:RBC transfusion and the association with outcomes in children presenting in shock.

Prospective cohort study, Level II.

Of 135 children with median (IQR) age 10 (5,14) years and weight 40 (20,64) kg, 85 (63%) received low ratio transfusion and 50 (37%) high ratio despite similar activation of institutional massive transfusion protocols (MTP; low-38%, high-46%, p = .34). Most patients sustained blunt injuries (70%). Median injury severity score was greater in high ratio patients (low-25, high-33, p = .01); however, hospital mortality was similar (low-24%, high-20%, p = .65) as was the risk of extended ventilator, ICU, and hospital days (all p > .05).

Despite increased injury severity, patients who received a high ratio of FFP:RBC had comparable rates of mortality. These data suggest high ratio FFP:RBC resuscitation is not associated with worst outcomes in children who present in shock. MTP activation was not associated with receipt of high ratio transfusion, suggesting variability in MTP between centers.

A cohort profile of children and adolescents who had a suicide-related contact with police or paramedics in Queensland (Australia).

EMA - Emergency Medicine Australasia

Suicide is a leading cause of death in children and adolescents worldwide and a major public health concern. While suicidal behaviours place a significant demand on mental health and emergency services, data regarding suicide-related contacts with police and paramedics are an underutilised resource. The aim of the present study was to identify the demographic profile of young individuals (aged 5-17) and had a suicide-related contact with police or paramedics in Queensland (Australia).

The present study utilised a population-wide linked dataset, including data from police and paramedics and health administrative data, between 1 February 2013 and 31 January 2018.

The identified cohort of 7929 children had a median age of 15 years and mainly comprised females (63.2%). Over the study period, 64 children died, most by suicide (76.6%). Less than a third of the cohort were responsible for almost two-thirds of the total number of contacts with police or paramedics.

Findings provide a comprehensive profile of children and adolescents in suicidal crisis and highlight the substantial number of interactions that occur with police and paramedics. Due to the way the linked dataset was constructed, it must be assumed that the number of young persons in suicidal crisis is higher. Findings highlight the value of considering pre-hospital alternatives to presenting to emergency departments (EDs) for this cohort, to reduce impost on EDs and improve outcomes. Further examination of re-presentations by young persons is warranted to inform prevention and intervention strategies.

Prospective validity evidence for the abbreviated emergency medicine Copenhagen Burnout Inventory.

Academic Emergency Medicine

Prior research has provided retrospective validity evidence for an abbreviated Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) to measure burnout among emergency medicine (EM) residents. We sought to provide additional validity and reliability evidence for the two-factor, six-item abbreviated CBI.

This cross-sectional study used data from the abbreviated CBI that was administered following the 2022 American Board of Emergency Medicine In-training Examination. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed and the prevalence of burnout among EM residents was determined.

Of the 8918 eligible residents, 7465 (83.7%) completed the abbreviated CBI. CFA confirmed the previously developed model of two factors using six items answered with a 1- to 5-point Likert scale. The internal factor was derived from personal and work-related burnout and the external factor was related to caring for patients. The reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha (0.87). The overall prevalence of burnout was 49.4%; the lowest prevalence was at the EM1 level (43.1%) and the highest was at the EM2 level (53.8%).

CFA of the abbreviated CBI demonstrated good reliability and model fit. The two-factor, six-item survey instrument identified an increase in the prevalence of burnout among EM residents that coincided with working in the COVID-19 environment. The abbreviated CBI has sufficient reliability and validity evidence to encourage its broader use.

Utilizing the National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) to confirm the impact of emergency department management in sepsis patients: a cohort study from taiwan 1998-2020.

International Journal of Emergency Medicine

Most sepsis patients could potentially experience advantageous outcomes from targeted medical intervention, such as fluid resuscitation, antibiotic administration, respiratory support, and nursing care, promptly upon arrival at the emergency department (ED). Several scoring systems have been devised to predict hospital outcomes in sepsis patients, including the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score. In contrast to prior research, our study introduces the novel approach of utilizing the National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) as a means of assessing treatment efficacy and disease progression during an ED stay for sepsis.

To evaluate the sepsis prognosis and effectiveness of treatment administered during ED admission in reducing overall hospital mortality rates resulting from sepsis, as measured by the NEWS2.

The present investigation was conducted at a medical center from 1997 to 2020. The NEWS2 was calculated for patients with sepsis who were admitted to the ED in a consecutive manner. The computation was based on the initial and final parameters that were obtained during their stay in the ED. The alteration in the NEWS2 from the initial to the final measurements was utilized to evaluate the benefit of ED management to the hospital outcome of sepsis. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed, encompassing all clinically significant variables, to evaluate the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for total hospital mortality in sepsis patients with reduced severity, measured by NEWS2 score difference, with a 95% confidence interval (adjusted HR with 95% CI). The study employed Kaplan-Meier analysis with a Log-rank test to assess variations in overall hospital mortality rates between two groups: the "improvement (reduced NEWS2)" and "non-improvement (no change or increased NEWS2)" groups.

The present investigation recruited a cohort of 11,011 individuals who experienced the first occurrence of sepsis as the primary diagnosis while hospitalized. The mean age of the improvement and non-improvement groups were 69.57 (± 16.19) and 68.82 (± 16.63) years, respectively. The mean SOFA score of the improvement and non-improvement groups were of no remarkable difference, 9.7 (± 3.39) and 9.8 (± 3.38) years, respectively. The total hospital mortality for sepsis was 42.92% (4,727/11,011). Following treatment by the prevailing guidelines at that time, a total of 5,598 out of 11,011 patients (50.88%) demonstrated improvement in the NEWS2, while the remaining 5,403 patients (49.12%) did not. The improvement group had a total hospital mortality rate of 38.51%, while the non-improvement group had a higher rate of 47.58%. The non-improvement group exhibited a lower prevalence of comorbidities such as congestive heart failure, cerebral vascular disease, and renal disease. The non-improvement group exhibited a lower Charlson comorbidity index score [4.73 (± 3.34)] compared to the improvement group [4.82 (± 3.38)] The group that underwent improvement exhibited a comparatively lower incidence of septic shock development in contrast to the non-improvement group (51.13% versus 54.34%, P < 0.001). The improvement group saw a total of 2,150 patients, which represents 38.41% of the overall sample size of 5,598, transition from the higher-risk to the medium-risk category. A total of 2,741 individuals, representing 48.96% of the sample size of 5,598 patients, exhibited a reduction in severity score only without risk category alteration. Out of the 5,403 patients (the non-improvement group) included in the study, 78.57% (4,245) demonstrated no alteration in the NEWS2. Conversely, 21.43% (1,158) of patients exhibited an escalation in severity score. The Cox regression analysis demonstrated that the implementation of interventions aimed at reducing the NEWS2 during a patient's stay in the ED had a significant positive impact on the outcome, as evidenced by the adjusted HRs of 0.889 (95% CI = 0.808, 0.978) and 0.891 (95% CI = 0.810, 0.981), respectively. The results obtained from the Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that the survival rate of the improvement group was significantly higher than that of the non-improvement group (P < 0.001) in the hospitalization period.

The present study demonstrated that 50.88% of sepsis patients obtained improvement in ED, ascertained by means of the NEWS2 scoring system. The practical dynamics of NEWS2 could be utilized to depict such intricacies clearly. The findings also literally supported the importance of ED management in the comprehensive course of sepsis treatment in reducing the total hospital mortality rate.

High versus low chloride load in adult hyperglycemic emergencies with acute kidney injury: a multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Internal and emergency medicine

Hyperglycemic emergencies frequently lead to acute kidney injury (AKI) and require treatment with large amount of intravenous fluids. However, the ...

Factors triggering familial mediterranean fever attacks, do they really exist?

Internal and emergency medicine

Several possible factors are hypothesized to trigger familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) attacks; however, there is no consensus on this matter. We ...