-
Many odors are noxious, but few are as repellent as the foul smell of massive hematochezia. Everybody in the emergency department knows something is wrong. Once you get past the smell, you realize you often have a very ill patient with a complex medical history and underlying comorbidities. Disposition decision is often easy ("ADMIT"), but to whom and where?
-
-
Injuries of the wrist and elbow in children are frequently seen in the emergency department (ED), and as children and adolescents are participating in sports in record numbers, the frequency of these injuries is continuing to rise. Sports injuries in children and adolescents are by far the most common cause of musculoskeletal injuries treated in the ED, accounting for 41% of all musculoskeletal injuries.
-
-
Ceftobiprole, a novel broad-spectrum cephalosporin with activity against MRSA, was non-inferior to vancomycin plus ceftazidime in a study of complicated skin and skin-structure infections. This is the first β-lactam with reliable activity against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to be evaluated in advanced-stage clinical trials.
-
Elevated troponin i is a nonspecific finding, but suggests a poor prognosis regardless of its cause.
-
-
Institution of a daily pharmacist-enforced intervention designed to improve adherence to sedation guidelines decreased the duration of mechanical ventilation and ICU stay.
-
In this review of patients admitted to the ICU with acute respiratory failure secondary to COPD exacerbation or cardiogenic pulmonary edema, nearly two-thirds of patients who apparently met criteria for noninvasive ventilation (NIV) were intubated without a trial of NIV.
-
Randomized studies of neuroprotective agents for ischemic stroke have resulted in a series of failures, as multiple agents, promising in animal models, have failed when applied to human subjects. By contrast, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has been somewhat a "neglected stepsister" when compared to ischemic stroke; it has been studied minimally, despite its high morbidity and mortality.