-
This clinical study was carried out to test the hypothesis that acetazolamide (Diamox®) would correct metabolic alkalosis and facilitate weaning in intubated patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who had elevated serum bicarbonate and were alkalemic.
-
Endotracheal tubes (ETTs) coated with antimicrobial substances can reduce bacterial adhesion on the tube, block biofilm formation, and reduce bacterial burden in tracheal secretions. Various antimicrobial agents have been employed for this purpose.
-
Was an abnormal lab result missed, such as a potassium level of 2.5? Was an incorrect medication prescribed? Or was a radiology study misinterpreted which revealed a pneumothorax? In every one of these scenarios, it is necessary for the ED physician to call the patient...
-
Your daughter calls you from a party and tells you that she is on her way home. Two hours later, she hasn't arrived and she does not answer her cell phone. You call the emergency department (ED) and ask if she is registered as a patient there.
-
To reduce legal risks, Linda M. Stimmel, JD, a partner with the Dallas, TX-based law firm of Stewart Stimmel, says the best strategy is to "show diligence." Document your ED's efforts to provide adequate staffing and educate staff and physicians on improved triage techniques, such as attendance logs on inservices to improve triage.
-
This is a two-part series on liability risks involving ED triage processes. This month, we cover the impact of wait times on ED lawsuits, and ways to reduce risks during long wait times.
-
How's this for a practice gap? It's estimated that 1 in 10 suicide victims are people seen in the emergency department within 2 months of dying. Suicide is an issue of public health, which, in today's medical system, is often the domain of the emergency physician (EP).
-
-
Abdominal pain in childhood is a common presentation to the emergency department (ED). While most cases are benign, they frequently create a diagnostic dilemma. The spectrum of disease varies widely from neonates to infants, children, and adolescents, and requires the clinician to rapidly differentiate between a benign medical diagnosis versus a potential surgical abdomen to minimize morbidity and mortality.
-
An adverse event in the ED at University Medical Center (UMC) in Las Vegas might have drawn negative media coverage and state and federal investigations, but it also led to process changes that the ED managers say have made a world of difference in patient satisfaction and quality.