Articles Tagged With:
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Avoid Disaster by Properly Preparing New Nurses
Ideally, new graduates should not practice in an ED without first undergoing an intense preceptorship overseen by experienced nurses, followed by undergoing proper precept with a seasoned professional. Even if the hospital is not held specifically at fault for a failure to prepare new graduates, the lack of training can be the cause of a negligent act that leads to a lawsuit.
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Operational Countermeasures Help EDs Navigate Staffing Challenges
A possible solution involves moving care to the front end of the visit. Depending on the size of the department and acuity level, this might involve putting a physician or an advanced practice clinician out front, supported by a nurse, a tech, a phlebotomist, and a transporter. The goal of this approach is to ensure patients receive everything they would need if they were able to be in a room.
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A Review of Psilocybin in Treating Depression
This literature review examines the research that has gone into the use of psilocybin specifically to treat depression. An examination of the available evidence demonstrates significant promise in psilocybin’s efficacy to treat depression, although more research is needed to make the results generalizable.
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Researchers: Telehealth Visits OK for High Blood Pressure Monitoring
Although there was no difference in long-term outcomes, patients treated virtually were happier with their care than those who went to the clinic.
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Staffing Shortages No. 1 Challenge in Healthcare
Short-staffed EDs mean patients have to wait longer for laboratory and diagnostic testing results, which could lead to delays in administering life-saving treatment.
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Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: More than Hypertension and Proteinuria
This article explains the current diagnostic criteria for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and how they are interrelated. It also describes evidence-based interventions for emergency providers, who must know how to diagnose and treat these conditions, and when it is safe for discharge, as well as to arrange outpatient follow-up.
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Is IVIG Treatment Really Better than Natural Recovery in Patients with Guillain-Barré Syndrome?
In this controversial report comparing patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome treated with intravenous immunoglobulin vs. no treatment, the group that appears to have fared the best were patients who had an acute demyelinating syndrome, and not an axonal variant. This was an observational study and not a randomized treatment trial.
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Intravenous Immunoglobulin in Dermatomyositis
Treatment of dermatomyositis with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) resulted in overall better clinical improvement after 16 weeks compared to patients treated with placebo. However, there was a significant number of thromboembolic adverse events in the treatment group. The group of patients treated was a heterogeneous group. However, IVIG now is U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved for the treatment of dermatomyositis.
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Treatment of Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, a rare opportunistic viral infection that occurs in patients who have chronic immunosuppression, has defied all attempts at treatment. This observational study, which pooled patient data from multiple centers around the world, showed that there is some benefit using checkpoint inhibitors to help reconstitute the immune system of these patients. However, survival, at best, is 50% of those treated.
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Long-Term Neurological Outcomes of Patients Treated with CAR-T Therapy
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy is approved for the treatment of lymphoma, leukemia, and multiple myeloma, but its use is associated with early neurotoxicity in almost half of patients. Despite the incidence of neurotoxicity, long-term follow-up of patients after CAR-T infusion suggests that patients’ neurological examination, neuro-imaging studies, and cognition remain unaffected by this treatment.