-
Patman and associates at the Lung Institute of Western Australia in Perth undertook this study to determine whether the routine, intensive administration of chest physiotherapy (PT) to mechanically ventilated patients with severe acute brain injury would prevent the occurrence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), or speed its resolution once it was present.
-
Hough et al set out to determine incidence and outcomes of early neuromyopathy in patients with persistent acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and to evaluate the association of neuromyopathy with the use of methylprednisolone in this population.
-
The use of normal saline instillation with suctioning has been debated over the years due to uncertainty about the benefits of use. Caruso and colleagues assessed the use of the instillation of 8 mL of saline before tracheal suctioning and compared VAP rates among control and treatment patients receiving mechanical ventilation for > 72 hours who had an orotracheal or tracheo-tomy tube.
-
-
This second part concludes our discussion of acute appendicitis, focusing on three patient populations where the diagnosis can be challenging and imaging modalities are commonly used: the elderly, children, and pregnant women.
-
-
The emergency department assessment of appendicitis has sure changed a lot in the past 30 years.
-
Burns may range from a minor injury from a brief contact with hot water to a life-threatening, devastating injury. Burns may be obvious or subtle depending on the mechanism and type of force producing the injury. The early recognition and aggressive management of even the smallest burn makes a significant impact on the outcome of each individual patient, especially in terms of function.
-
-
Dr. Janiak has served as an emergency medicine medico-legal consultant for over 30 years, and has reviewed hundreds of malpractice cases. In the process, he has recognized common patterns and mistakes that emergency physicians make that set them up to be sued. This article takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to pointing out potential mistakes and ways that lawsuits might be avoided.