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Emergency Medicine

Journal Watch condenses summaries of key research across specialties from more than 250 medical journals into concise yet comprehensive articles, incorporating clinical commentary from prominent physician-editors in the field.


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SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Normal White Blood Cell Count Does Not Rule Out BacteremiaFree

Of 289 patients with bacteremia, 52% had normal WBC count and 17% had neither WBC elevation nor fever.

Recent Emergency Medicine Articles

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Antibiotics Are Overprescribed for Acute Bronchitis

Antibiotics were prescribed to too many patients and bronchodilators to too few at two emergency departments in San Diego.

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Testing for and Treating Influenza

Positive rapid influenza test results are helpful, negative results are not; antiviral treatments have modest effects.

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Thrombolysis in the Prehospital Setting for Acute Stroke

In a small urban study, use of a mobile stroke unit reduced time to thrombolysis but did not affect outcomes.

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Treatment Initiation by Physicians Improves Process Measures

Although time to disposition decreased minimally, time to other interventions decreased substantially.

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Placing Art in the Waiting Room Mellows Patients and Visitors

A simple study shows that installing images of nature in the waiting room can reduce restless behavior.

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Low-Risk Chest Pain Patients Can Be Monitored and Discharged Without Provocative TestingFree

This single-center study suggests that deferring provocative testing to the outpatient setting is safe.

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Mild Therapeutic Hypothermia May Benefit Patients in Cardiogenic Shock

Mild hypothermia reduced need for vasopressors and inotropes in patients with cardiogenic shock after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Eradication of Staphylococcus aureus Colonization Is Effective in Only Half of Cases

But a larger reduction in subsequent skin and soft-tissue infections was seen when the entire household was treated.

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

New Decision Rule for Syncope Safely Reduces Hospitalizations

At a single emergency department, implementation of the Boston Syncope Criteria reduced admissions by 11% and identified all patients with adverse outcomes.

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Ground vs. Air Transport for Severely Injured Patients

Helicopter transport is associated with a small but real benefit, but it comes at a high cost.

Browse our complete Emergency Medicine archive >>

Editor's Picks from across Journal Watch

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Epidural Steroids, Etanercept, or Saline Injections for Subacute Sciatica?

No significant benefit was found for drug treatment relative to saline.

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

What's the Incidence of Venous Thromboembolism After Knee Arthroscopy?

Incidence was 0.40% in this large cohort study.

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Anticoagulation for Pregnant Women with Mechanical Prosthetic Heart Valves

Encouraging results with low-dose warfarin throughout pregnancy, but the approach must be validated.

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Infective Endocarditis Involving Implantable Cardiac DevicesFree

Both in-hospital and 1-year mortality rates were high in this multinational survey.

More Editor's Picks >>

Journal Watch Emergency Medicine summarizes important medical journal articles about a wide variety of subjects relevant to the practice of emergency medicine including acute coronary syndrome, airway management, asthma, cardiac arrest, chest pain, endotracheal intubation, head trauma, pulmonary embolism, sedation, and stroke.

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Emergency Medicine Editor-in-Chief

Emergency Medicine Journal Watch
Ron M. Walls, MD, FRCPC, FAAEM
Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital

More about Journal Watch Emergency Medicine and its board >>

Journals Watched: Emergency Medicine >>

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