Pharmacotherapy for Agitation Management in a Pediatric Emergency Department.

Objectives: In the treatment of agitation in a pediatric emergency department (PED), it is common to use once or as needed (PRN) medications when nonpharmacological management options have failed. Currently, there is limited available evidence on the treatment of pediatric agitation. The objective of this analysis was to characterize the prescribing practices of once or PRN medications for the treatment of agitation in a PED at an academic medical center.

Antibiotic Prescribing Errors in Patients Discharged From the Pediatric Emergency Department.

Objectives: The pediatric emergency department (PED) is an especially high-risk setting for medication errors. Several factors contribute to this risk including the need to provide care to complex patients who are unknown to staff, the frequent use of verbal orders, and the necessity of weight-based dosing. This investigation sought to assess one potentially error-prone event, antibiotic prescriptions written for patients being discharged from the PED, and to characterize the occurrence of medication errors to identify opportunities for improvement.

Characterization of Prophylactic Antimicrobial Therapy Practices for Patients With Marine-Associated Injuries in the Emergency Department.

Background: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for the treatment of marine-associated wound infections include empiric coverage for species with a combination of a third-generation cephalosporin and doxycycline. These recommendations are based on limited data and it remains unclear if this regimen is also indicated for prophylaxis.

Objective: The purpose of this analysis was to assess the antibiotic regimens used in the emergency department (ED) for prophylaxis of marine-associated injuries relative to the CDC recommendations and evaluate any clinical impact.

Identifying the Population Sources of Alcohol Impaired Driving: An Assessment of Context Specific Drinking Risks.

Objective: High-risk drinkers who drink in high-risk contexts like bars are recognized as a primary source of alcohol-impaired drivers and motor vehicle crashes within communities. We assess the contributions of drinking in other contexts to these outcomes.

Method: Self-report survey data from 8,553 adults in 50 California cities were used to estimate rates of driving after drinking (DAD; driving within 4 hours of drinking any alcohol) and a measure of alcohol-impaired driving (AID; driving when having had "too much" to safely drive home) associated with drinking in bars, homes, restaurants, parties, and other contexts.

Testing a social ecological model of alcohol use: the California 50-city study.

Background And Aims: Social ecological theories suggest that greater community alcohol availability and individual drinker characteristics should jointly affect drinking patterns and the use of drinking contexts. We assessed relationships of demographic and personality characteristics of individual drinkers and environmental characteristics at the city-level to measures of drinking patterns and use of drinking contexts.

Design: Multi-level statistical analyses of archival and survey data from 50 cities in California, USA.