Articles related to Emergency Medicine

The study authors highlight that buprenorphine can be safely started in an emergency department without triggering withdrawal, even among individuals who use stronger opioids like fentanyl. They note, “this study provides further evidence that all emergency department physicians can and should be using buprenorphine to help individuals take the first steps into treatment and toward recovery.”

Based on cases reported to the CDC, this study reports an acceleration in case detection, with a dramatic increase in 2021. From 2019 to 2021, 17 states identified their first case of C auris; however, resistance to echinocandins increased threefold in 2021 compared to the previous two years. And because screening is not conducted uniformly across the United States, the true burden of C auris cases is likely higher than reported.

Twelve-hundred (1,200) patients admitted for 48 hours or more for COVID were randomized to 2.5mg of apixaban or placebo twice daily for 30 days. The incidence of death or thromboembolism was low and similar in the two arms of this study. The study was terminated early and the authors say the results are imprecise.

Nearly 25% of fentanyl powder seized in 48 states in 2022 contained xylazine. Xylazine causes severe injection site wounds that can require amputation and puts drug users at higher risk for overdose and death.

According to an exclusive poll of healthcare professionals worldwide, patients receive the best care in the emergency room between 6 a.m. and noon. The survey respondents were given four multiple-choice options — between midnight and 6 a.m., 6 a.m. to noon, noon to 6 p.m., and 6 p.m. to midnight — and 41% said that between 6 a.m. and noon is prime time for the best ER care.

Although the relationship between preceding viral illness and subsequent Guillain-Barre isn’t proven, it is a commonly observed pattern. The severity of GBS ranges from mild sensory disturbances to life-threatening loss of function requiring intubation.