Acute Coronary Syndromes
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EDs See More High-Risk Patients with Ventricular Assist Devices
To reduce risks for patients with ventricular assist devices, providers should learn how they work, what complications need to be evaluated, and how to do so. Ensure systems are put in place for providers to care for these patients in an expeditious and effective way.
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Older Adults with Abdominal Pain Risk Mistriage, Inadequate Diagnostic Tests
ED providers should not think of abdominal pain in older adults as the same as abdominal pain in younger patients. At the department level, consider adding abdominal pain in older patients to the list of automatic ECG criteria.
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ED Plays ‘Central Role’ in STEMI Care
This includes prehospital cath lab activation, knowing when it is appropriate to bypass the ED, understanding the sequence of events for patients presenting to the ED, knowing what to do to shorten ED dwell time, and knowing what is best to do if awaiting cath lab arrival.
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Effective Defense for ED if Allegation Is Failure to Rule Out Aortic Dissection
Aortic dissection is not an easy diagnosis to make, and providers cannot order advanced imaging on every person who comes through the ED. But the mere act of documenting why aortic dissection was thought to be unlikely could make the provider reconsider the decision to discharge — and end up saving a life.
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Cardiology, Stroke Malpractice Cases Involve ED Providers’ Communication Gaps
Cutting corners with poor communication can lead to devastating patient outcomes.
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Updated Guidelines on Recurrent, Low-Risk Chest Pain Fill in Some Treatment Gaps
Eight specific recommendations can help emergency providers make good decisions for patients who have visited the ED and undergone a diagnostic workup that showed no evidence of coronary stenosis, only to return with similar complaints within 12 months.
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SPADE Method Quantifies Potential Harm of Misdiagnosis
Methodology improves accuracy of diagnostics for sepsis and acute myocardial infarction, lowers malpractice risk.
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Acute Myocardial Infarction Most Likely to Result in Payout
Almost 40% of acute myocardial infarction malpractice claims result in payment, a higher percentage than any other condition, according to the results of a recent analysis. -
Database Designed to Drive Improvements in Pulmonary Embolism Care
Most of data supporting the pulmonary embolism response team (PERT) concept comes from single-center reports that lack prospective, controlled studies to evaluate the benefits. PERTs are so prevalent today that it is doubtful researchers could conduct a randomized, clinical trial. To surmount this hurdle, researchers are endeavoring to bring everyone’s data together in one multicenter registry called the PERT Consortium Quality Database.
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Pulmonary Embolism Response Teams in the Emergency Setting
Emergency clinicians are adept at diagnosing and treating pulmonary embolisms. In cases deemed intermediate- or high-risk, determining which treatment is best is not always clear. Innovators at Massachusetts General Hospital developed the first pulmonary embolism response team, which has since been adopted widely.