Intranasal Lidocaine for Primary Headache Management in Emergency Department; a Clinical Trial.

INTRODUCTION: Most of the headache cases only require pain management in emergency department (ED). The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of intranasal lidocaine in this regard. METHOD: In this clinical trial, adult patients with primary headache were randomly treated with 7.5 mg intravenous (IV) chlorpromazine and 1 ml intranasal lidocaine 2% (treatment) or normal saline 0.9% (placebo), and were compared 5, 15, and 30 minutes later regarding success rate using SPSS 21. RESULT: 100 patients were assigned to either treatment or placebo group. Number needed to treat of intranasal lidocaine at 5, 15, and 30 minutes were 4 (95% CI: 2.2 - 6.6), 3 (95% CI: 1.7 - 3.5), and 4 (95% CI: 2.3 - 15.9), respectively. These measures for absolute risk reduction were 30 (95% CI: 15.2 - 44.8), 44 (95% CI: 28.7 - 59.3), and 26 percent (95% CI: 6.3 - 44.3), respectively. Pain relapse occurred in 16% of treatment and 11% of control group within 1 hour of treatment (p = 0.402). CONCLUSION: It seems that, intranasal lidocaine along with IV chlorpromazine could result in more successful and faster management of primary headaches in ED.

Direct ultrasound methods: a confirmatory technique for proper endotracheal intubation in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Early confirmation of incorrect endotracheal tube (ETT) placement is of vital importance when performing emergency airway management. No ideal confirmation technique has been proposed under all circumstances. Recently, ultrasonography was suggested as a useful tool for confirmation of correct positioning of the ETT. The aim of this study is to assess the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography for detection of proper ETT placement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study was carried out in the emergency department from February to October 2012. The ultrasonography was performed by a trained senior resident in two phases: (a) as the intubation was being performed (dynamic phase) and (b) after the intubation had been completed (static phase). A linear probe was placed transversely over the cricothyroid membrane during the intubation process (dynamic phase) and on the anterior neck just superior to the suprasternal notch in the static method. Operating characteristics were calculated for both dynamic and static determination of ETT placement. RESULTS: Sixty patients were enrolled in each study group. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the dynamic technique for determining correct endotracheal intubation were 98.1% [95% confidence interval (CI), 88.8-99.9%], 100% (95% CI, 51.6-100%), 100% (95% CI, 91.5-100%), and 85.7% (95% CI, 42-99.2%), respectively. Using the static technique, all testing characteristics listed previously were 100%. CONCLUSION: In this study, we found acceptable sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for prediction of tracheal ETT placement with the use of dynamic and static ultrasonography.