Emergency Medicine Alert articles from August 2002

Emergency Medicine Alert archives from August 2002

How reliable is clinical examination for detecting pelvic fractures?(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Source: Gonzales RP. The utility of clinical examination in screening for pelvic fractures in blunt trauma. J Amer Coll Surg 2002;194:121-125. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO PROSPECTIVELY EVALUATE the sensitivity of clinical examination...

Angioplasty vs. thrombolytics in hospitals without cardiac surgical backup.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Source: Thrombolytic therapy vs primary percutaneous coronary intervention for myocardial infarction in patients presenting to hospitals without on-site cardiac surgery. JAMA 2002;287:1943-1951. THE AVAILABILITY OF PRIMARY PERCUTANEOUS...

Analgesia for children with acute abdominal pain.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Source: Kim MK, et al. A randomized clinical trial of analgesia in children with acute abdominal pain. Acad Emerg Med 2002;9:281-287. RECENT STUDIES HAVE CHALLENGED THE LONG-HELD relief that analgesia may mask symptoms and physical findings...

Prognostic value of cardiac troponin-T in patients with renal insufficiency.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Source: Aviles RJ. Troponin-T levels in patients with acute coronary syndromes, with and without renal dysfunction. N Engl J Med 2002;346:2047-2052. THE AUTHORS PRESENT A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF data from the GUSTO-IV study, which was...

Popliteal (Baker's) cyst. (Special Feature).
August 1, 2002... THE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF THE PAINFUL, swollen calf is one that frequently is encountered in the emergency department (ED). The clinician must consider deep venous thrombosis (DVT), cellulitis, calf muscle (i.e., soleus, gastrocnemius,...

Physician CME questions.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... 13. What is the approximate mortality associated with major pelvic trauma? a. b. 3-5% c. 5-10% d. >20% 14. In the Gonzalez study, alcohol intoxication decreased the sensitivity of clinical examination for the detection of...

Marcapasos in an older woman. (ECG Review).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... [FIGURE OMITTED] Clinical Scenario: An 87-year-old Hispanic woman had a postoperative electrocardiogram (ECG) performed as part of her evaluation for dyspnea that developed following abdominal surgery. There was no chest pain. A permanent...