Imaging appropriateness in an academic emergency medicine program.

INTRODUCTION: As radiologic assessment is a key part in evaluating patients visited in emergency department, this survey was conducted to measure emergency medicine residents' competency in choosing appropriate diagnostic imaging in different clinical scenarios. METHODS: All emergency medicine residents enrolled in an academic emergency medicine discipline in the three medical universities of Tehran, Iran were recruited. A questionnaire was designed consisting of 10 clinically common scenarios selected from the American College of Radiology appropriateness criteria. Each resident completed the survey separately with answers only given after all residents participated. RESULTS: 196 residents completed the survey (95% of all residents). The results were stratified by post-graduate year and university. The average number of correct answers was 6.2. First, second and third year residents scored the average of 6.1, 5.8 and 6.5, respectively (P=0.04). The average score of residents from different universities did not differ significantly. CONCLUSION: According to the low average score, it is recommended that attentive educational perfections are needed to help residents order more appropriate diagnostic images, which may also be helpful for other healthcare providers. However, it seems that our emergency medicine academic curriculum is relatively efficient to enhance residents' skills in choosing proper imaging.

Efficacy of measuring procalcitonin levels in determination of prognosis and early diagnosis of bacterial resistance in sepsis.

BACKGROUND: Rapid and proper diagnosis of sepsis is one of the daily challenges of emergency department (ED) and intensive care units. The general aim of the present study was to determine the efficacy of measuring procalcitonin levels in the early diagnosis of bacterial resistance to antibiotics administered empirically in patients with sepsis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present cross-sectional study consisted of patients with clinical evidence of sepsis or systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), referring to the ED of a third-level hospital in Tehran, Iran in 2012. After collection of basic and clinical data of patients, venous blood samples were taken for routine laboratory tests and determination of procalcitonin serum levels at baseline and 6 and 24 hours after administration of the first dose of an empirical antibiotic. The subjects were divided into two groups of discharged and expired and then comparisons were made using t-test, Chi-squared test and Fisher's test. Specificity and sensitivity of procalcitonin were evaluated along with ROC curve. RESULTS: In the present study, 170 patients with sepsis were included. Evaluation of serum levels of procalcitonin 24 hours after administration of antibiotics exhibited the best sensitivity and specificity for each patient's response to antibiotics. Use of the cutoff point of 6.5 mg/mL for procalcitonin can predict the disease outcome with sensitivity and specificity of 67% and 80%, respectively. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that procalcitonin be used for the diagnosis of sepsis or SIRS resulting from an infectious disease, for follow-up of treatment and for evaluation of response to treatment.

Sonographic Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter as a Screening Tool for Detection of Elevated Intracranial Pressure.

INTRODUCTION: Timely diagnosis and treatment of post-traumatic elevated intracranial pressure (EICP) could be reduced morbidity and mortality, and improved patients' outcome. This study is trying to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of sonographic optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) in detection of EICP. METHODS: Sonographic ONSD of patients with head trauma or cerebrovascular accident suspicious for EICP were evaluated by a trained chief resident of emergency medicine, who was blind to the clinical and brain computed tomography scan (BCT) findings of patients. Immediately after ultrasonography, BCT was performed and reported by an expert radiologist without awareness from other results of the patients. Finally, ultrasonographic and BCT findings regarding EICP were compared. To evaluate the ability of sonographic ONSD in predicting the BCT findings and obtain best cut-off level, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) of sonographic ONSD in determining of EICP was calculated. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: There were 222 patients (65.3% male), with mean age of 42.2±19.5 years (range: 16-90 years). BCT showed signs of EICP, in 28 cases (12.6%). The means of the ONSD in the patients with EICP and normal ICP were 5.5 ± 0.56 and 3.93 ± 0.53 mm, respectively (P<0.0001). ROC curve demonstrated that the best cut off was 4.85 mm. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, PLR, and NLR of ONSD for prediction of EICP were 96.4%, 95.3%, 72.2%, 98.9%, 20.6, and 0.04, respectively. CONCLUSION: Sonographic diameter of optic nerve sheath could be considered as an available, accurate, and noninvasive screening tool in determining the elevated intracranial pressure in cases with head trauma or cerebrovascular accident.

Clinical audit of emergency unit before and after establishment of the emergency medicine department.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the deficiencies and potential areas through a medical audit of the emergency departments, in six general hospitals affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences at Tehran, Iran, after preparing specific wards-based international standards. METHODS: A checklist was completed for all hospitals which met our eligibility criteria mainly observation and interviews with head nurses and managers of the emergency medicine unit of the hospitals before (2003) and after (2008) the establishment of emergency departments there. Domains studied included staffing, education and continuing professional development (CPD), facility (design), equipment, ancillary services, medical records, manuals and references, research, administration, pre-hospital care, information systems, disaster planning, bench-marking and hospital accreditation. RESULTS: Education and CPD (p = 0.042), design and facility (p = 0.027), equipment (p = 0.028), and disaster (p = 0.026) had significantly improved after the establishment of emergency departments. Nearly all domains showed a positive change though it was non-significant in a few. In terms of observation, better improvement was seen in disaster, security, design, and research. According to the score for each domain compared to what it was in the earlier phase, better improvement was observed in hospital accreditation, information systems, security, disaster planning, and research. CONCLUSION: Security, disaster planning, research, design and facility had improved in hospitals that wave studied, while equipment, records, ancillary services, administration and bench-marking had the lowest improvement even after the establishment of emergency department, and, hence, needed specific attention.

Aluminium phosphide poisoning and oxidative stress: serum biomarker assessment.

According to previous animal studies, aluminium phosphides (AlPs) may induce oxidative stress leading to generation of free radicals and alteration in antioxidant defense system. This study was conducted to evaluate the existence and degree of oxidative stress in patients with acute AlP ingestion. A total of 44 acute AlP ingested patients as well as 44 age- and sex-matched controls were included. All patients had acute poisoning symptoms with AlP at the time of presentation and had blood samples analyzed for lipid peroxidation, total antioxidant capacity and total thiol. Our findings showed that there is a significant increase in lipid peroxidation in AlP ingested group along with a reduction in total antioxidant capacity and total thiols groups. These clinical data confirm previous experimental models that showed AlP exposure might significantly augment lipoperoxidative damage with simultaneous alterations in the antioxidant defense system. Hence, our findings might justify use of antioxidants in treatment of acute AlP poisoning which needs to be clarified by additional clinical trials.

Nitrous oxide/oxygen compared with fentanyl in reducing pain among adults with isolated extremity trauma: a randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of nitrous oxide/oxygen (N(2)O/O(2)) and fentanyl in relieving pain among patients with an isolated long bone fracture or main joint dislocation of the limbs. METHODS: Patients with isolated long bone fracture or main joint dislocation with moderate to severe pain were randomized into two groups. For the first group, nitrous oxide/oxygen (50:50) was self-administered until pain relief was achieved up to a maximum of 15 min. Fentanyl (2 µg/kg) as a single dose was administered for the second group. Pain intensity was measured with a visual analogue scale before and at minutes three, six and nine after the start of the drug administration. We also recorded observed adverse effects in these two groups. RESULTS: One hundred patients were enrolled in the study. No statistically significant difference in pain score was detected between the two groups with one exception. The mean visual analogue scale scores at 9 min were 2.2 and 3.1 for nitrous oxide/oxygen and fentanyl, respectively (difference -0.9 [95% CI -1.7- -0.1]) (P=0.006). There was no statistically significant difference between two groups regarding adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: Neither nitrous oxide/oxygen or fentanyl appeared to be superior to the other in relieving moderate to severe pain among emergency patients presenting with isolated limb fracture or dislocation. In an ED, increased use of nitrous oxide might reduce the overall need for opiate analgesia, and in our setting, the need for constant monitoring.

Tetanus Quick Stick as an applicable and cost-effective test in assessment of immunity status.

INTRODUCTION: Tetanus vaccine and immunoglobulin administration are challenging decisions mostly because of the fact that the current protocol for immunization against tetanus is based on 2 variables: the vaccination status of the patient and the nature of wound and its exposure. To solve this problem, Tetanus Quick Stick (TQS; Nephrotek Laboratory, Rungis, France), an immunochromatographic dipstick test, was developed to determine the tetanus immunity of the patients. The aim of this present study was to investigate the sensitivity, specificity, and the positive and negative predictive values and cost-effectiveness of TQS in the emergency department (ED) setting. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from 200 patients presenting to our ED. Information including demographic information, tetanus immunization status, wound description, and the preventive measures taken by the emergency physician were gathered by a preeducated nurse. Tetanus Quick Stick test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were performed as the standard diagnostic test by an emergency physician and a laboratory technician, respectively; and results of the 2 techniques were compared. RESULT: Overall, tetanus vaccine was administered to 141(70.5%) patients and immunoglobulin to 105 (52.5%) patients. The analysis revealed 88.1% sensitivity and 97.6% specificity for the TQS test. The positive and negative predictive values of TQS test were 99.3% and 66.1%, respectively. Our analysis is also showed a significant decrease in cost when TQS was applied for patients with dirty, tetanus prone wounds or injuries and unknown or incomplete vaccination history (€ 9.48 versus € 12.1). CONCLUSION: This study revealed TQS test to be appropriate and cost-effective for ED use especially in evaluating patients who do not remember or cannot give their tetanus immunization history.