Air or Ground Transport to the Critical Care Resuscitation Unit: Does It Really Matter?

Objective: Critically ill patients requiring urgent interventions or subspecialty care often require transport over significant distances to tertiary care centers. The optimal method of transportation (air vs. ground) is unknown.

The impact of automatic physician review of prescription drug monitoring program data on opioid prescribing in a Maryland statewide hospital system.

Background And Aims: Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) were implemented to decrease dangerous opioid prescribing but have had variable results. This report details how automatic PDMP review changed opioid prescribing across a statewide medical system.

Design: An observational study.

Transport of Peripartum Patients for Medical Management: Predictors of Any Intervention During Transport.

Background When obstetric patients present to a hospital without obstetric consultants for medical care, they are often transferred for a higher level of care. Factors associated with patient care during transport between hospitals are unknown. Our study investigated factors associated with care intensity.

Patterns of opioid prescribing in emergency departments during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic was superimposed upon an ongoing epidemic of opioid use disorder and overdose deaths. Although the trend of opioid prescription patterns (OPP) had decreased in response to public health efforts before the pandemic, little is known about the OPP from emergency department (ED) clinicians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We conducted a pre-post study of adult patients who were discharged from 13 EDs and one urgent care within our academic medical system between 01/01/2019 and 09/30/2020 using an interrupted time series (ITS) approach.

A Survey of Graduates of Combined Emergency Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Programs: An Update.

Background: In 1998, emergency medicine-pediatrics (EM-PEDS) graduates were no longer eligible for the pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) sub-board certification examination. There is a paucity of guidance regarding the various training options for medical students who are interested in PEM.

Objectives: We sought to to determine attitudes and personal satisfaction of graduates from EM-PEDS combined training programs.

Diabetic ketoacidosis in the pediatric emergency department.

Despite many advances, the incidence of pediatric-onset diabetes and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is increasing. Diabetes mellitus is 1 of the most common chronic pediatric illnesses and, along with DKA, is associated with significant cost and morbidity. DKA is a complicated metabolic state hallmarked by dehydration and electrolyte disturbances.

NICU admission hypothermia, chorioamnionitis, and cytokines.

Objective: To determine whether neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission hypothermia is associated with an intrauterine inflammatory response.

Methods: We analyzed a cohort of 309 very low birthweight infants to determine relationships between admission hypothermia, chorioamnionitis, and serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α.

Results: Admission hypothermia <36°C occurred in 72% of patients <26 weeks and 44% of patients ≥26 weeks gestational age.

Pediatric orthopedic emergencies.

Many well seasoned emergency physicians often find it challenging to assess and treat pediatric patients regardless of the complaint. Because of anatomic and physiologic differences, pediatric patients experience orthopedic injuries that are both unique and specific to this subset of the population. Emergency physicians must be aware of these nuances to properly diagnose and treat these injuries.

Patients leaving against medical advice (AMA) from the emergency department--disease prevalence and willingness to return.

Background: How patients fare once they leave the emergency department (ED) against medical advice (AMA), and the extent of illness burden that accompanies them, remains unstudied.

Objective: To determine the fate of patients leaving the ED AMA for a defined period of time post-discharge.

Methods: This was a prospective follow-up study of a convenience sample of patients leaving the ED AMA during two 6-month periods in consecutive calendar years at an urban academic ED with 32,000 annual patient visits.

Emergency physician ability to predict methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus skin and soft tissue infections.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has a high prevalence in Emergency Departments (EDs). The objective of this study was to determine the ability of emergency physicians to predict MRSA infection in purulent wounds. A prospective observational study was conducted in an urban, tertiary academic center in ED patients presenting with purulent wounds and abscesses that received wound culture.