PHarmacist Avoidance or Reductions in Medical Costs Considering Board of Pharmacy Specialties Certification (PHARM-BPS).

Clinical pharmacists bring unparalleled medication expertise, but quantifying their impact on a health system's bottom line remains unestablished. To classify interventions by pharmacists with and without board certification and quantify the cost avoidance (CA) from accepted interventions. This multicenter prospective observational study, conducted between August 2018 and January 2019, included board certified (BPS) and non-board certified (Non-BPS) emergency medicine (EM) and intensive care unit (ICU) clinical pharmacists from 89 U.

Intravenous push administration of anti-seizure medications.

Intravenous push (IVP) administration of anti-seizure medications is becoming increasingly popular among emergency departments. IVP administration eliminates the need for compounding and preparation by the pharmacy department, as well as the need to gather infusion materials or set up a patient's tubing and pump, all of which translate to faster drug administration. This is important given the time-sensitive nature of status epilepticus treatment.

Interpreter Modalities and Unplanned Emergency Department Revisits in Limited English Proficiency Patients.

Introduction: Emergency department encounters include an increasing number of patients with limited English proficiency, yet little is known about the impact of interpreter services on unplanned revisits to the emergency department. This study aims to assess interpreters' utilization and unplanned ED revisits, serving as an indicator of care quality.

Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective chart review of ED visits at an urban academic center between January and April 2019.

Anti-Amyloid Therapies for Alzheimer's Disease and Amyloid-Related Imaging Abnormalities: Implications for the Emergency Medicine Clinician.

Alzheimer's disease is the neurodegenerative disorder responsible for approximately 60% to 70% of all cases of dementia and is expected to affect 152 million by 2050. Recently, anti-amyloid therapies have been developed and approved by the Food and Drug Administration as disease-modifying treatments given as infusions every 2 to 5 weeks for Alzheimer's disease. Although this is an important milestone in mitigating Alzheimer's disease progression, it is critical for emergency medicine clinicians to understand what anti-amyloid therapies are and how they work to recognize, treat, and mitigate their adverse effects.

Cephalosporins for Outpatient Pyelonephritis in the Emergency Department: COPY-ED Study.

Study Objective: The primary objective of our study was to compare the effectiveness of oral cephalosporins versus fluroquinolones and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) for the treatment of pyelonephritis in patients discharged home from the emergency department (ED).

Methods: This was a multicenter, retrospective, observational cohort study of 11 geographically diverse US EDs. Patients aged ≥18 years diagnosed with pyelonephritis and discharged home from the ED between January 1, 2021 and October 31, 2023 were included.

Emergency department utilization in Veterans with spinal cord injuries & disorders.

Objective: To determine frequency that ED visits are needed, and the most common chief complaints and medications prescribed to Veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D).

Methods: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) SCI and Disorders (SCI/D) Registry (VHA SCIDR) was used to identify Veterans with SCI/D over a five-year period (fiscal years 2018-2022). The primary outcome was the proportion of Veterans with SCI/D who had visits to the ED during the study period.

Utility of D-dimer in predicting pulmonary embolism in patients with COVID-19 presenting to the emergency department.

Objectives: While our understanding of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has evolved, uncertainty remains regarding utility of previously established pulmonary embolism (PE) screening guidelines in patients with COVID-19. Many studies have investigated the efficacy of D-dimer (DD) screenings for patients with COVID-19 admitted to inpatient services, but few have evaluated patients in the emergency department (ED). The purpose of this study was to investigate utility of DD threshold for PE screening in patients with COVID-19 presenting to the ED.

A national survey of medication utilization for cardiac resuscitation in the emergency department: A survey of emergency medicine pharmacists.

Purpose: Vasoactive medications are used during advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) to shunt oxygenated blood to vital organs and after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) to maintain hemodynamic goals. However, limited evidence exists to support vasoactive medication recommendations in such scenarios, and it is unknown how practices vary among emergency departments across the US.

Methods: A survey questionnaire (15 questions) was electronically distributed to emergency medicine pharmacists (EMPs) in the US through various professional listservs.

EDucated: The emergency medicine pharmacotherapy literature of 2023.

The purpose of this article is to summarize pharmacotherapy related emergency medicine (EM) literature indexed in 2023. Articles were selected utilizing a modified Delphi approach. The table of contents from pre-determined journals were reviewed and independently evaluated via the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system by paired authors.

Do weighted blankets improve sleep among children with a history of maltreatment? A randomized controlled crossover trial.

Study Objectives: Sleep disruption is prevalent and persistent among children who experience maltreatment/interpersonal trauma. Weighted blankets have gained popularity in recent years as a potential nonpharmacological intervention for improving sleep in various populations, but their efficacy has not been examined among maltreated children. The current study used a randomized, within-subjects, crossover design to examine whether the use of a weighted blanket improves objective and/or subjective indices of sleep among 30 children, ages 6-15 years (mean = 9.

Empirical antimicrobial prescribing for pyelonephritis in patients discharged from 15 US Emergency Departments: an opportunity for improvement.

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are commonly treated in the emergency department (ED), and unfortunately, resistance to first-line agents is increasing.

Objectives: To characterize treatment of pyelonephritis in a nationally representative sample of ED patients and to identify patient- and treatment-specific factors associated with receiving initial inactive antibiotics.

Methods: We conducted a multicentre, observational cohort study utilizing the Emergency Medicine PHARMacotherapy Research NETwork (EMPHARM-NET), comprising 15 geographically diverse US EDs.

Sugammadex Use Outside of the Postoperative Setting.

Background: Sugammadex rapidly reverses the nondepolarizing neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) rocuronium and vecuronium. The role of sugammadex is not well-defined outside of the postoperative setting.

Objective: This study aims to describe sugammadex use outside the postoperative setting for the reversal of nondepolarizing NMBAs.

Norepinephrine versus epinephrine for hemodynamic support in post-cardiac arrest shock: A systematic review.

Purpose: The preferred vasopressor in post-cardiac arrest shock has not been established with robust clinical outcomes data. Our goal was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing rates of in-hospital mortality, refractory shock, and hemodynamic parameters in post-cardiac arrest patients who received either norepinephrine or epinephrine as primary vasopressor support.

Methods: We conducted a search of PubMed, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL from 2000 to 2022.

Sleep spindle activity is associated with state- and trait-based emotion in healthy school-aged children.

Background: While connections between children's sleep and their daytime functioning are well established, less is known about the microstructural features of sleep that support emotional wellbeing. Investigating these relationships in healthy children may provide insight into adaptive emotional development. We therefore examined associations between non-rapid eye movement (N2) sleep spindles and both state- and trait-based measures of emotion.

A pharmacist-driven deprescribing protocol for negative urine and sexually transmitted infection cultures in the emergency department increases antibiotic-free days.

Purpose: Emergency department (ED) pharmacists commonly perform positive culture follow-ups that result in optimized antibiotic prescribing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential positive impact on the outcome of antibiotic-free days through an ED pharmacist-driven protocol to contact patients with negative urine cultures and sexually transmitted infection (STI) test results who were discharged with antibiotics.

Methods: This was a single-center, prospective, observational, pre-post intervention study to determine antibiotic use in patients with negative urine cultures who were discharged from the Loyola Medical University Center ED with antibiotics prescribed.

Pharmacist Avoidance or Reductions in Medical Costs in Critically and Emergently Ill Pediatrics: PHARM-PEDS Study.

Objectives: To comprehensively classify interventions performed by pediatric critical care clinical pharmacists and quantify cost avoidance (CA) generated through their accepted interventions.

Design: A multicenter, prospective, observational study performed between August 2018 and January 2019.

Setting: Academic and community hospitals in the United States with pediatric critical care units.

Keeping It "Current": A Review of Treatment Options for the Management of Supraventricular Tachycardia.

Objective: To review treatment options and updates that exist for the management of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT).

Data Sources: A literature search of PubMed was performed including articles from 1974 to June 2023 using the terms: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Primary literature and guidelines were reviewed.