Emergency Medicine Alert articles from December 2003

Emergency Medicine Alert archives from December 2003

D-dimer in the diagnosis of DVT.(Abstract & Commentary)
December 1, 2003... Source: Wells PS, et al. Evaluation of D-dimer in the diagnosis of suspected deep-vein thrombosis. N Engl J Med 2003:349:1227-1235. THE AUTHORS OF THIS RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED STUDY SOUGHT to determine whether incorporation of a D-dimer...

CURE, clopidogrel, and aspirin: good study, nice adjunct, and the real deal.(Abstract & Commentary)
December 1, 2003... Source: Peters RJ, et al. Effects of aspirin dose when used alone or in combination with clopidogrel in patients with acute coronary syndromes: Observations from the Clopidogrel in Unstable angina to prevent Recurrent Events (CURE) study....

Isolation: don't let 'out of sight' mean 'out of mind' when using this precaution.(Abstract & Commentary)
December 1, 2003... Source: Stelfox HT, et al. Safety of patients isolated for infection control. JAMA 2003;290:1899-1905. PATIENT SAFETY AND MEDICAL ERRORS HAVE BECOME a major focus of the provision of health care during the last decade. Critics of...

The right thermometer for tiny infants: rectal proves most reliable.(Abstract & Commentary)
December 1, 2003... Source: Callanan D. Detecting fever in young infants: Reliability of perceived, pacifier, and temporal artery temperatures in infants younger than 3 months of age. Pediatr Emerg Care 2003;19:240-243. FEVER IN BABIES IS A MAJOR CAUSE FOR...

The electrocardiographic diagnosis of LV aneurysm.(Special Feature)
December 1, 2003... LEFT VENTRICULAR (LV) ANEURYSM IS DEFINED AS A localized area of infarcted myocardium that bulges outward during the entire cardiac cycle. LV aneurysm most frequently is seen after extensive anterior wall myocardial infarction (MI), but also...

Physician CME questions.
December 1, 2003... 1. Which of the following statements regarding the electrocardiographic diagnosis of LV aneurysm is true? a. The simultaneous presence of Q waves and ST segment elevation confirms the diagnosis of LV aneurysm. b. Approximately 60% of...

Bigeminal term misuse.(ECG Review)
December 1, 2003... Clinical Scenario: The telemetry tracing shown in the Figure was interpreted as showing "bigeminy," in that every other beat was thought to be a PVC. Do you agree with this interpretation? [FIGURE OMITTED] Interpretation: A bigeminal...