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  • Should We Regionalize the Care of Mechanically Ventilated Patients?

    Regionalized health care systems exist for trauma and neonatal care and efforts are underway to institute similar systems for high-risk surgeries, three fields in which there is a positive relationship between the volume of cases handled and patient outcomes.
  • Survival from In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest is Worse at Night and on Weekends

    This study sought to determine whether the occurrence of in-hospital cardiac arrest at night and on weekends was associated with worse outcomes as compared with arrests during day/evening shifts and on weekdays.
  • Pharmacology Watch: FDA Drug Approval to Change its Ways?

    In This Issue: FDA drug approval to change? Urinary incontinence in women; how metabolism of certain drugs can be predicted by genetic analysis; bowel preps may compromise renal function especially in the elderly according to a new study; FDA Actions.
  • Off-Label Prescribing: What Are the Medical-Legal Risks?

    You are treating a patient that you feel would be a good candidate for 'Drug X.' Unfortunately, 'Drug X' is not indicated by the FDA for the treatment of that specific condition; and, you are unable to find prescribing information regarding the optimal dose or duration of therapy with 'Drug X' for that condition. You realize that your use of 'Drug X' in this circumstance would be considered "off-label." What legal risks, if any, might you face?
  • ED physicians more often sued for not giving tPA for stroke

    Emergency physicians are much more likely to be sued for not administering tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) to stroke patients, than for giving the drug, says a new study.
  • What if it's not safe to give tPA in your hospital?

    Before giving a stroke patient tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), you must consider not only whether the patent is a candidate, but also whether the setting is appropriate, says Edward Jauch, MD, MS, assistant professor in the department of emergency medicine at University of Cincinnati and a member of the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Stroke Team.
  • E-mail leaves "paper trail" lawyers may utilize

    Imagine this e-mail from one of your colleagues being Exhibit A at your malpractice trial: "You misdiagnosed Jane Doe with indigestion last night and she showed up this morning on my shift with a heart attack and didn't live. Since this is your third time to miss this sort of thing, you really need to pay better attention."
  • Pediatric Concussions

    Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important public health problem. It has the potential for long-term complications with persistent morbidity, and also can result in missed school and workdays.
  • Basics of Chronic Wound Care

    Why would Emergency Medicine Reports publish an article about "chronic" wounds? As we well know, many patients with chronic conditions come to the emergency department (ED), and those with chronic wounds are no exception. The incidence of chronic skin wounds is likely to increase to due the rise in obesity and diabetes, as well as aging in the general population.
  • Diagnosis and Management of Back Pain in Children

    The incidence of back pain in children is directly proportional to the age of the child, with back pain an unusual complaint in children younger than age 6. There is a steady increase in incidence, with adolescents having the highest rates of back pain by the time they are age 18. Approximately 60% of adults experience significant back pain in their lifetimes.