Withholding and withdrawing life-support in adults in emergency care: joint position paper from the French Intensive Care Society and French Society of Emergency Medicine.

For many patients, notably among elderly nursing home residents, no plans about end-of-life decisions and palliative care are made. Consequently, when these patients experience life-threatening events, decisions to withhold or withdraw life-support raise major challenges for emergency healthcare professionals. Emergency department premises are not designed for providing the psychological and technical components of end-of-life care.

Comparison between the WHO and NIAAA criteria for binge drinking on drinking features and alcohol-related aftermaths: Results from a cross-sectional study among eight emergency wards in France.

Background: Binge drinking (BD) consists of heavy episodic alcohol use. Whereas the World Health Organization (WHO) defines BD as 60g of alcohol or more per occasion, the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) conceives BD as drinking 70g (men) or 56g (women) in less than two hours. We compared the subjects delineated by each definition.

Evaluation of eight biomarkers to predict short-term mortality in patients with acute severe dyspnea.

Background: Being able to better predict risk and optimal care for patients presenting with acute dyspnea is critical. Prognostic biomarkers are well known: amino-terminal pro-B-type Natriuretic Peptide, troponin, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin. Some were more recently developed: mid-regional pro-A-type natriuretic peptide (Mid Pro-ANP), mid-regional-pro-adrenomedullin (MR-proADM), pro-endothelin, copeptin.

Predicting morphine related side effects in the ED: An international cohort study.

Study Objectives: Morphine is the reference treatment for severe acute pain in an emergency department. The purpose of this study was to describe and analyse opioid-related ADRs (adverse drug reactions) in a large cohort of emergency department patients, and to identify predictive factors for those ADRs.

Methods: In this prospective, observational, pharmaco-epidemiological international cohort study, all patients aged 18years or older who were treated with morphine were enrolled.

Outcome after severe accidental hypothermia in the French Alps: A 10-year review.

Objective: To describe the factors associated with outcome after accidental deep hypothermia.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study on patients with accidental hypothermia (core temperature <28 °C) admitted to a Level I emergency room over a 10-year period.

Results: Forty-eight patients were included with a median temperature of 26 °C (range, 16.

More than half the families of mobile intensive care unit patients experience inadequate communication with physicians.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess comprehension by family members of the patient's severity in the prehospital setting.

Method: We conducted a cross-sectional study in four mobile intensive care units (ICUs, medicalized ambulances) in France from June to October 2012. Nurses collected data on patients, patient's relatives, and mobile ICU physicians.

Factors associated with hospital admission in hereditary angioedema attacks: a multicenter prospective study.

Background: Acute attacks of hereditary angioedema are characterized by recurrent localized edema. These attacks can be life threatening and are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality.

Objective: To determine factors associated with hospital admission of patients with an acute attack of hereditary angioedema presenting at the emergency department.

Intentional drug poisoning care in a physician-manned emergency medical service.

Objectives: Severely poisoned patients can benefit from intensive and specific treatments. Emergency medical services (EMS) may therefore play a crucial role by matching prehospital care and hospital referral to the severity of poisoned patients. Our aim was to investigate EMS accuracy in this condition.

Impact of intra-arrest therapeutic hypothermia in outcomes of prehospital cardiac arrest: a randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: Mild therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is recommended as soon as possible after the return of spontaneous circulation to improve outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Preclinical data suggest that the benefit of TH could be increased if treatment is started during cardiac arrest. We aimed to study the impact of intra-arrest therapeutic hypothermia (IATH) on neurological injury and inflammation following OHCA.

Listeria monocytogenes-associated biliary tract infections: a study of 12 consecutive cases and review.

At present, little is known regarding Listeria monocytogenes-associated biliary tract infection, a rare form of listeriosis.In this article, we will study 12 culture-proven cases reported to the French National Reference Center for Listeria from 1996 to 2013 and review the 8 previously published cases.Twenty cases were studied: 17 cholecystitis, 2 cholangitis, and 1 biliary cyst infection.

Frequency and severity of adverse drug reactions due to self-medication: a cross-sectional multicentre survey in emergency departments.

Background: Little is known about the relation of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to self-use of medications.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and severity of ADRs related to self-medication (ADR-SM) among emergency department (ED) patients and to describe their main characteristics.

Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional, observational study was conducted over a period of 8 weeks (1 March to 20 April 2010), in the ED of 11 French academic hospitals.

Alcohol and violence in the emergency room: a review and perspectives from psychological and social sciences.

Our objective is to present a focused review of the scientific literature on the effect of alcohol consumption on violence related-injuries assessed in the emergency room (ER) and to show how psychological and behavioral sciences could lead to a better understanding of the factors contributing to alcohol-related injuries in the ER. We retrieved published literature through a detailed search in Academic Search Premier, MEDLINE with Full Text PsycARTICLES, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, PsycINFO, PUBMed and SocINDEX with Full Text for articles related to emergency rooms, medical problems and sociocognitive models addressing alcohol intoxication articles. The first search was conducted in June 2011 and updated until August 2013.

Deliberate drug poisoning with slight symptoms on admission: are there predictive factors for intensive care unit referral? A three-year retrospective study.

Deliberate drug poisoning leads to 1% of emergency department (ED) admissions. Even if most patients do not exhibit any significant complication, 5% need to be referred to an intensive care unit (ICU). Emergency physicians should distinguish between low- and high-acuity poisoned patients at an early stage to avoid excess morbidity.

Experience feedback committee in emergency medicine: a tool for security management.

Objective: Emergency departments are high-risk structures. The objective was to analyse the functioning of an experience feedback committee (EFC), a security management tool for the analysis of incidents in a medical department.

Methods: We conducted a descriptive study based on the analysis of the written documents produced by the EFC between November 2009 and May 2012.

Non-severe pulmonary embolism: prognostic CT findings.

The goal of this study was to retrospectively evaluate CT cardiovascular parameters and pulmonary artery clot load score as predictors of 3-month mortality in patients with clinically non-severe pulmonary embolism (PE). We included 226 CT positive for PE in hemodynamically stable patients (112 women; mean age 67.1 years ± 16.

Three-dimensional analysis of connexin 43 gap junction in the ex vivo rat seminiferous tubules: short-term effects of hormonal effectors.

Cx43 gap junctions are essential for proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis of germ cells during spermatogenesis. However, only few and indirect observations have been reported on the distribution of Cx43, the predominant Cx within the seminiferous tubules. In the present study, we developed an innovative method that allows visualization of the three- dimensional localization of Cx43 associated with gap junctions and their functionality in isolated spermatogenic stage-specific seminiferous tubules.

[Admissions of elderly to French emergency departments related to adverse drug events].

Aims: To investigate the characteristics of adverse drug events (ADE) causing emergency medical admissions in the elderly.

Methods: Data were obtained from two prospective cross sectional studies with similar experimental design which were carried out in seven French emergency departments in 1999 and 2003. The proportion of ADE leading to admission, their severity and preventability were assessed in patients aged > or =70 (group A) and compared to those of patients < 70 years (group B).

[Assessment of antibiotic prescriptions in the emergency department of a general hospital. Prospective analysis of 211 prescriptions].

Aim: To study the appropriateness and conformity to antibiotic prescription guidelines in an emergency department and to assess the factors likely to influence them.

Methods: This prospective study included all adult patients visiting the emergency department over a period of 100 days and receiving antibiotic treatment. Two independent specialists in infectious disease assessed the appropriateness of the indications and the treatment's conformity with good practice guidelines.

[Not Available].

Aims: To investigate the characteristics of adverse drug events (ADE) causing emergency medical admissions in the elderly.

Methods: Data were obtained from two prospective cross sectional studies with similar experimental design which were carried out in seven French emergency departments in 1999 and 2003. The proportion of ADE leading to admission, their severity and preventability were assessed in patients aged ≥70 (group A) and compared to those of patients <70years (group B).

Emergency department visits caused by adverse drug events: results of a French survey.

Background: Adverse drug events (ADEs) are a substantial cause of hospital admissions. However, little is known about the incidence, preventability and severity of ADEs resulting in emergency department visits. To address this issue, we conducted a prospective survey in emergency departments of French public hospitals.

Appropriateness of diagnostic management and outcomes of suspected pulmonary embolism.

Background: International guidelines include several strategies for diagnosing pulmonary embolism with confidence, but little is known about how these guidelines are implemented in routine practice.

Objective: To evaluate the appropriateness of diagnostic management of suspected pulmonary embolism and the relationship between diagnostic criteria and outcome.

Design: Prospective cohort study with a 3-month follow-up.

[Adverse drug effects observed at French admissions departments and emergency services (Prospective study of the National Educational Association for Teaching Therapeutics and proposals for preventive measures].

Various studies have shown that adverse drug events (ADE) are a substantial cause of hospital admissions. However, little is known about the incidence and severity of ADE resulting in hospital visits. To address this issue, we conducted a prospective survey in 10 primary care and emergency departments of French public hospitals.