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Previous studies have shown that the use of a multi-part daily rounding checklist reduces errors of omission in the ICU such as failure to discontinue empirically started antibiotics, to perform spontaneous breathing trials to see whether ventilated patients can be weaned and extubated, or to provide prophylaxis against deep venous thrombosis (DVT).
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To determine the risk of potentially unintended discontinuation of common, evidence-based medications for chronic disease, Bell and colleagues examined administrative records for 12 years (19972009) for all hospitalized patients and all outpatient prescriptions in Ontario, Canada.
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This was a prospective, randomized, controlled, multicenter trial that took place between 2007 and 2010 at seven ICUs in Belgium. Inclusion criteria were evidence of nutritional impairment or significant risk for it (measured using a validated and standardized nutritional risk screen questionnaire) and age > 18 years.
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Saddle pulmonary embolism (SPE) is defined as the presence of a thromboembolus located at the bifurcation of the main pulmonary artery.
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In this issue: Medication poisonings in children; rosuvastatin vs atorvastatin for atherosclerosis; saw palmetto for prostate symptoms; using atypical antipsychotics for off-label indications in adults; and FDA actions.
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The "second-look EKG" is a good risk-management strategy, according to Robert Broida, MD, FACEP, chief operating officer of Physicians Specialty Limited Risk Retention Group in Canton, OH. If you are the treating physician for any patient with chest pain being considered for discharge, it is a good practice to have another physician review and initial the EKG before discharge, he advises.
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After the actress Natasha Richardson died in 2009 from an epidural hematoma that media reports emphasized could have been diagnosed with a head CT scan, EPs were flooded with requests for the test, even for patients with very minor head injuries, recalls John Burton, MD, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, VA.
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The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Florida's cap does not violate the federal Constitution, but punted whether the cap violates the Florida Constitution to the Florida Supreme Court.
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This is the second of a two-part series on liability risks involving ordering of diagnostic tests in the ED. This month, we report on possible lawsuits for future cancers, strategies if patients threaten to sue because a test wasn't ordered, and liability risks specific to pediatric patients.
