Nebulized medications in the emergency department: A narrative review of nontraditional agents.

Purpose: This article summarizes emerging nontraditional therapies administered via the nebulization route for use in the emergency department (ED).

Summary: Although traditional routes of medication administration (eg, intravenous) have been the mainstay of administration modalities for decades, these routes may not be appropriate for all patients. Nowhere is this more readily apparent than in the ED setting, where patients with a variety of presentations receive care.

Pain Medication Administered and Prescribed to Patients With an Ankle Sprain Treated in an Emergency Department: A Record-Based Cohort Study.

Introduction: Recent data indicate that patients treated in the emergency department for an ankle sprain receive multiple medications. However, research has not been able to accurately identify all the medications because of study limitations. The primary purpose of this study was to document the type of medication, number of doses, and number of encounters given a prescription at discharge or instructions to take over-the-counter medication.

Medications Used in U.S. Emergency Departments for an Ankle Sprain: An Analysis of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

Background: An ankle sprain is a common musculoskeletal injury treated in the emergency department. Rest, ice, compression, and elevation is the preferred method for managing the symptoms after an ankle sprain. However, many patients receive a medication, such as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) or an opioid.

Analytical and Clinical Evaluation of the NOWDiagnostics ADEXUSDx Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Test Using Whole Blood.

Background: Point-of-care (POC) urine qualitative human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) devices are used to rapidly assess pregnancy status, but many of these devices are susceptible to false-negative results caused by increased concentrations of hCG β core fragment (hCGβcf) that does not contain hCGβcf.

Methods: Purified hCG was added to hCG-negative heparinized whole blood to generate samples with known hCG concentrations, and the resulting samples were used to evaluate device sensitivity, low-end reproducibility, high-dose hook effect, intermediate range performance, acceptable sample volume, acceptable hematocrit range, and lot-to-lot variation. Device performance was also prospectively evaluated in 40 pregnant and 40 nonpregnant women aged 18-44 years in a hospital-based clinic or an academic hospital emergency department.

High-Dose Adenosine for Treatment of Refractory Supraventricular Tachycardia in an Emergency Department of an Academic Medical Center: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Background: Symptomatic tachycardia is a common admission diagnosis in the emergency department (ED). This can be a life-threatening condition and requires immediate attention. Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is commonly treated with adenosine, and successful treatment is limited to atrioventricular (AV) node-dependent SVTs as adenosine causes a transient heart block.

Effect of emergency medicine pharmacists on medication-error reporting in an emergency department.

Purpose: The effect of an emergency medicine (EM) clinical pharmacist on medication-error reporting in an emergency department (ED) was studied.

Methods: The medication-error reports for patients seen at a university's ED between September 1, 2005, and February 28, 2009, were retrospectively reviewed. Errors reported before the addition of an EM pharmacist (from September 1, 2005, through February 28, 2006) were compared with those reported after the addition of two EM pharmacists (from September 1, 2008, through February 28, 2009).

Pharmacologic options for reducing the shivering response to therapeutic hypothermia.

Recent literature has demonstrated significant improvements in neurologic outcomes in patients who have received induced hypothermia in the setting of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Through multiple metabolic mechanisms, the induction of hypothermia slows the progression and devastation of transient cerebral hypoxia. Despite these benefits, the desired reduction in core temperature is often a challenging venture as the body attempts to maintain homeostasis through the induction of thermoregulatory processes aimed at elevating body temperature.

Current developments in salivary diagnostics.

Salivary diagnostics is an emerging field that has progressed through several important developments in the past decade, including the publication of the human salivary proteome and the infusion of federal funds to integrate nanotechnologies and microfluidic engineering concepts into developing compact point-of-care devices for rapid analysis of this secretion. In this article, we discuss some of these developments and their relevance to the prognosis, diagnosis and management of periodontitis, as an oral target, and cardiovascular disease, as a systemic example for the potential of these biodiagnostics. Our findings suggest that several biomarkers are associated with distinct biological stages of these diseases and demonstrate promise as practical biomarkers in identifying and managing periodontal disease, and acute myocardial infarction.

Colloid cyst: a case report and literature review of a rare but deadly condition.

Background: Colloid cysts are congenital benign tumors accounting for 0.2-2% of all intracranial neoplasms but representing 15-20% of all intraventricular masses. Emergency Physicians are more likely than any other group to encounter patients with a colloid cyst, a rare but life-threatening condition.

An assessment of pediatric all-terrain vehicle injuries.

Objectives: All-terrain vehicle (ATV) related injuries and deaths have been increasing since 1996. The objective of this study is to define the impact on the morbidity and mortality of the pediatric population of the referral area of one of Kentucky's level-1 trauma centers.

Methods: Data were collected retrospectively from the University of Kentucky Trauma Registry on all patients younger than 18 years of age admitted to the level 1 trauma center between 1996 and 2000 with ATV related injuries.