Manual ventilation quality is improved with a real-time visual feedback system during simulated resuscitation.

Introduction: Manual ventilations during cardiac arrest are frequently performed outside of recommended guidelines. Real-time feedback has been shown to improve chest compression quality, but the use of feedback to guide ventilation volume and rate has not been studied. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of a real-time visual feedback system for ventilation volume and rate improves manual ventilation quality during simulated cardiac arrest.

Correction to: The Toronto cognitive assessment (TorCA): normative data and validation to detect amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

Upon publication of this article [1], it was brought to our attention that one of the 303 participants in the normative study should have been deleted from the database.

Assessing the impact of an emergency trauma course for senior medical students in Kenya.

Introduction: Ninety percent of all injury-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. The WHO recommends short, resource-specific trauma courses for healthcare providers. Studies show that teaching trauma courses to medical students in developed countries leads to significant increases in knowledge and skill.

The Toronto Cognitive Assessment (TorCA): normative data and validation to detect amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

Background: A need exists for easily administered assessment tools to detect mild cognitive changes that are more comprehensive than screening tests but shorter than a neuropsychological battery and that can be administered by physicians, as well as any health care professional or trained assistant in any medical setting. The Toronto Cognitive Assessment (TorCA) was developed to achieve these goals.

Methods: We obtained normative data on the TorCA (n = 303), determined test reliability, developed an iPad version, and validated the TorCA against neuropsychological assessment for detecting amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) (n = 50/57, aMCI/normal cognition).

Circus disaster: Case report, response, and review of injuries.

Circus acts with human artists performing acrobatic feats are a popular spectator pastime in the United States and in international venues. There is little data in the literature regarding injuries sustained during circus acts. Some injuries are minor, but others can be serious, or even fatal.

Disaster-related fatalities among US citizens traveling abroad.

Objective: To describe the locations and risk of death associated with natural disaster fatalities for US citizens traveling abroad.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A retrospective database review of US citizen disaster deaths occurring worldwide.

Interventions: None.

Characteristics and predictors of readiness to quit among emergency medical patients presenting with respiratory symptoms.

Purpose: To examine behavioral factors that lead patients to consider quitting smoking and features associated with readiness to quit among adults who are seeking treatment in the emergency department (ED) for respiratory symptoms.

Methods: A toal of 665 adult smokers seeking treatment in an ED for respiratory symptoms and respiratory illness answered survey questions during the ED visit.

Results: Patients self-reported "readiness to quit" was broadly distributed among this patient population.

Prenatal and postnatal cocaine exposure predict teen cocaine use.

Preclinical studies have identified alterations in cocaine and alcohol self-administration and behavioral responses to pharmacological challenges in adolescent offspring following prenatal exposure. To date, no published human studies have evaluated the relation between prenatal cocaine exposure and postnatal adolescent cocaine use. Human studies of prenatal cocaine-exposed children have also noted an increase in behaviors previously associated with substance use/abuse in teens and young adults, specifically childhood and teen externalizing behaviors, impulsivity, and attention problems.

Non-invasive carboxyhemoglobin monitoring: screening emergency medical services patients for carbon monoxide exposure.

Introduction: Carbon monoxide (CO) toxicity is a significant health problem. The use of non-invasive pulse CO-oximetry screening in the emergency department has demonstrated that the rapid screening of numerous individuals for CO toxicity is simple and capable of identifying occult cases of CO toxicity.

Objective: The objective of this study was to extend the use of this handheld device to the prehospital arena, assess carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO) levels in emergency medical services (EMS) patients, and correlate these levels with clinical and demographic data.

Emergency medicine in Dubai, UAE.

Dubai has rapidly risen to prominence in the Persian Gulf region as a center of global commerce and tourism and as a cultural crossroad between East and West. The health-care infrastructure has undergone rapid development. Collaborations with academic medical centers now exist to advance clinical care, teaching and research.

Do emergency physicians use serum D-dimer effectively to determine the need for CT when evaluating patients for pulmonary embolism? Review of 5,344 consecutive patients.

Objective: The purpose of our study was to investigate whether D-dimer screening is being used effectively to determine the need for MDCT in diagnosing acute pulmonary embolism (PE) in emergency department patients.

Materials And Methods: We performed a retrospective review of all patients who underwent D-dimer testing or MDCT in the emergency department from January 1, 2003, through October 31, 2005. A D-dimer value of > 0.

Smoking cessation among patients in an emergency chest pain observation unit: outcomes of the Chest Pain Smoking Study (CPSS).

This study examines the efficacy of a smoking cessation intervention on abstinence rates and motivation to quit smoking. Participants were adult smokers (N = 543) who presented to the emergency department with chest pain and who were admitted to an observation unit for 24-hour observation to rule out myocardial infarction. Participants were randomly assigned to either usual care or a tailored intervention employing motivational interviewing and telephone follow-up.

Finding needles in a haystack: a case series of carbon monoxide poisoning detected using new technology in the emergency department.

Introduction: The diagnosis of carbon monoxide poisoning can be difficult because the symptoms are nonspecific and may mimic other illnesses. If carbon monoxide poisoning is suspected, the standard test at this time is venous or arterial carboxyhemoglobin levels. A new device, the Rad-57 pulse CO-oximeter (Masimo Inc.

Non-invasive pulse CO-oximetry screening in the emergency department identifies occult carbon monoxide toxicity.

As carbon monoxide (CO) toxicity may present with non-specific signs and symptoms and without history of exposure, screening for CO toxicity may identify occult cases. The objective of this study was to determine whether non-invasive screening for CO exposure could be performed in all patients presenting to a high-volume urban emergency department (ED) and would identify patients with unsuspected CO toxicity. A study of adult patients, who presented to the ED for any complaint, prospectively screened for carboxyhemoglobin concentration by a pulse CO-oximeter (SpCO).