Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Emergency Medicine for April 2015. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Low Health Literacy Ups Mortality Risk Post Heart Failure Admission
THURSDAY, April 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Patients with low health literacy hospitalized for acute heart failure have an increased mortality risk, according to a study published online April 29 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Vena Cava Retrievable Filters No Help in Pulmonary Embolism
WEDNESDAY, April 29, 2015 (HealthDay News) — For patients with acute, symptomatic pulmonary embolism, the use of retrievable vena cava filters with anticoagulation does not offer any benefit over anticoagulation alone, according to a study published online April 28 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Buprenorphine Given in ER Benefits Opioid Dependent
WEDNESDAY, April 29, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A comparison of three treatments for opioid dependence indicates that patients given buprenorphine in the emergency department do better than those given only referrals. The research was published in the April 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Worse Working Memory in Women Versus Men Post Mild TBI
TUESDAY, April 28, 2015 (HealthDay News) — New research from Taiwan uncovers more evidence that women may have a more difficult time recovering their memory after concussions. The study appears online April 28 in Radiology.
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Physician Compensation Up for Most Specialties
TUESDAY, April 28, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Physician compensation has gone up for almost all specialties, according to a 2015 report published by Medscape.
CDC: Surveillance System Can Help Reduce Health Care Injuries
TUESDAY, April 28, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A surveillance system for health care facilities can be used to identify and help reduce the number of preventable injuries among health care personnel, according to research published in the April 24 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Lasting Mortality Risk Increase With Hyperglycemic Crises
TUESDAY, April 28, 2015 (HealthDay News) — During the first six years of follow-up, geriatric patients with diabetes have a higher mortality risk after hyperglycemic crisis episode (HCE), according to a study published in the May issue of Diabetes Care.
AAP Advises Doctors on How to Identify Child Abuse
TUESDAY, April 28, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has just released new guidance to help primary care doctors recognize the signs of child abuse. The clinical report was published online April 27 in Pediatrics.
National Health Alert Issued Over HIV Outbreak in Indiana
FRIDAY, April 24, 2015 (HealthDay News) — With opioid abuse now linked to 142 cases of HIV in rural Indiana, U.S. health officials are alerting other states to watch for clusters of HIV and hepatitis C among injection drug users.
CDC: Expanding EMS Naloxone Use Will Save Lives
FRIDAY, April 24, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Allowing more emergency medical service (EMS) workers to administer the prescription drug naloxone could reduce the number of overdose deaths caused by opioids, according to research published online April 23 in the American Journal of Public Health.
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Doctors May Be Caught Off Guard by Antibiotic Shortages
THURSDAY, April 23, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Between 2001 and 2013, there were shortages of 148 antibiotics. And the shortages started getting worse in 2007, according to a report published online April 22 in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
SAMHSA: Heroin Use Stabilizing in U.S., but Still Too High
THURSDAY, April 23, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Levels of heroin use in the United States have stabilized but are still high, according to an April 23 report from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Prednisolone, Pentoxifylline Little Use in Alcoholic Hepatitis
THURSDAY, April 23, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Prednisolone and pentoxifylline are associated with limited and no benefits, respectively, for severe alcoholic hepatitis, according to a study published in the April 23 issue of the The New England Journal of Medicine.
DMV Program Can Generate Additional Organ Donors
THURSDAY, April 23, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A brief, web-based training program for department of motor vehicles (DMV) employees that educates them about organ and tissue donation can increase the likelihood of customers registering as organ donors, according to research published in the May issue of the American Journal of Transplantation.
One in 10 AMI Patients Have Unrecognized Incident Diabetes
THURSDAY, April 23, 2015 (HealthDay News) — One in 10 acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients without a previous diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (DM) have underlying DM, according to research published online April 21 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Asthma Meds Ups ER Use
THURSDAY, April 23, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of asthma medications is associated with increased emergency department utilization among commercially insured patients, according to a study published online April 16 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
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EHR Data Mining Helps With Quality Improvement
WEDNESDAY, April 22, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Electronic health records (EHRs) are a valuable source of data that can be mined to help practices with quality improvement performance, according to a study published in Medical Economics.
EHR Decision Support Ups Radiologic Test Appropriateness
TUESDAY, April 21, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Computerized clinical decision-support (CCDS) capabilities of electronic health records may improve appropriate use of diagnostic radiologic test ordering and reduce test use, according to a review published in the April 21 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Changing Opioid Rx Formulations May Help Curb Abuse
TUESDAY, April 21, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Opioids that have features that make them hard to abuse may be linked to a drop in both the number of prescriptions and overdoses of these drugs, according to a new study published online April 20 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Age, Creatinine, Ejection Fraction Predict Post-MI Survival
MONDAY, April 20, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A simple age, creatinine, and ejection fraction (ACEF) score can predict one-year mortality risk in myocardial infarction 30-day survivors who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention, according to a study published in the May 1 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.
Synthetic Pot Sends Hundreds to ERs in Past Month
FRIDAY, April 17, 2015 (HealthDay News) — In the past month, more than 300 people in Alabama and Mississippi have sought emergency care after using synthetic marijuana, according to health officials.
Allergy Season Predicted to Be One of the Worst, but Shorter
FRIDAY, April 17, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Experts are predicting that this allergy season may be one of the worst in years.
CDC Details Mosquito-Borne Virus-Linked Death in Tennessee
FRIDAY, April 17, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Researchers have characterized a La Crosse virus isolate from the brain of a child who died of encephalitis-associated complications in eastern Tennessee in 2012.
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Suboptimal Prescribing Attitudes Could Signal Personal Distress
FRIDAY, April 17, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Medical students in personal distress may be more likely to have suboptimal attitudes about self-prescribing and personal responsibility for reporting impaired colleagues, according to a study published in the April issue of Academic Medicine.
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Combination Approach Could Help Rule Out PE in Primary Care
FRIDAY, April 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — To help rule out pulmonary embolism, general practitioners (GPs) can use the Wells rule for pulmonary embolism in combination with either a qualitative point-of-care (POC) D-dimer test or a quantitative D-dimer test, according to a study published online April 6 in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.
Synthetic Drug ‘Flakka’ Causes Hallucinations, Fits of Rage
THURSDAY, April 16, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A potent new designer drug called “flakka” is making headlines across the United States, driving many users into fits of screaming rage accompanied by vivid hallucinations.
Medicare Spending Down in Year One of Pioneer ACO
THURSDAY, April 16, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Medicare spending is down in year one of the Pioneer accountable care organization (ACO) program, according to a study published online April 15 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Ethical Implications for Looking Up Applicants on Facebook
THURSDAY, April 16, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Looking up students on Facebook and other social networking sites (SNS) is associated with ethical concerns, according to a perspective piece published in the March issue of the Journal of Graduate Medical Education.
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AMA Announces End of Sustainable Growth Rate Formula
WEDNESDAY, April 15, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Recently adopted legislation has repealed the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, according to a report published by the American Medical Association (AMA).
Survey Looks at Patient Attitudes Regarding Informed Consent
WEDNESDAY, April 15, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Most U.S. adults would prefer to be asked for permission to participate in studies assessing usual medical practices, according to a study published online April 14 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Security Breaches of Health Records Up Over Past Decade
TUESDAY, April 14, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Breaches in data security exposed more than 29 million health records to potential criminal misuse between 2010 and 2013, according to a new study. Security breaches involving hacking have nearly doubled in recent years, rising to 8.7 percent in 2013 compared with 4.7 percent in 2010, according to the study, published as a research letter in the April 14 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Placebo Response May Depend on Individual DNA
TUESDAY, April 14, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The strength of the placebo effect may depend on particular DNA, according to a report published online April 13 in Trends in Molecular Medicine.
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Improvement Seen in the Pediatric Readiness of ERs
MONDAY, April 13, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The pediatric readiness of U.S. emergency departments has improved, according to research published online April 13 in JAMA Pediatrics.
NSAID-Exacerbated Respiratory Disease Prevalent With Asthma
MONDAY, April 13, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Among people with asthma, the prevalence of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-exacerbated respiratory disease (NERD) is about 9 percent, and asthma morbidity is increased among those with NERD, according to a review published online April 8 in Allergy.
Medical Debt Burden Higher in Texas, Florida
FRIDAY, April 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Significantly more adults in Florida and Texas struggle to pay medical bills or pay off medical debt over time compared with residents of New York and California, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report released Friday.
Many Doctors Haven’t Started Dealing With ICD-10 Revision
FRIDAY, April 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Most physicians have barely begun to deal with issues relating to documentation associated with the transition to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10), according to an article published in Medical Economics.
Art Program Hones Med Students’ Visual Observation Skills
FRIDAY, April 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — An innovative interdisciplinary program, Art Rounds, is effective for improving medical and nursing students’ physical observation skills, according to a study published in the April issue of the Journal of Nursing Education.
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Almost One in 10 Readmitted After Carotid Revascularization
FRIDAY, April 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Almost one in 10 Medicare patients undergoing carotid revascularization are readmitted within 30 days, according to a study published in the April 14 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Dimethyl Fumarate Linked to Development of PML
THURSDAY, April 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — An active ingredient in some psoriasis and multiple sclerosis medications, dimethyl fumarate, has been linked to two cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), according to two letters published in the April 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Limited Time Available to Review Sunshine Act Data
WEDNESDAY, April 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Physicians have only 45 days to review and dispute reports regarding their financial ties to drug and medical device manufacturers reported under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, according to the American Medical Association (AMA).
Case Report of Food Allergy Acquired Via Blood Transfusion
TUESDAY, April 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The case of an 8-year-old Canadian boy suggests that it’s possible, but still rare, for children to develop food allergies from blood transfusions. The report was published in the April 7 issue of CMAJ, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.
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Veterans Listing Non-Nuclear Family Member As Next of Kin
TUESDAY, April 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A considerable number of veterans list an individual as next of kin who is not a nuclear family member, according to a research letter published in the April 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Risk of Cardiac Arrest During Sports Low for Fit Middle-Aged
TUESDAY, April 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Physically active middle-aged men and women have little chance of experiencing sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) while participating in sports, according to a new study published online April 6 in Circulation.
Med Students, Residents Rarely Perform Stethoscope Hygiene
TUESDAY, April 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Stethoscope hygiene is rarely performed by trainee physicians, according to a research letter published online April 2 in the Journal of Hospital Medicine.
Targeted Body Temp Mgmt Post Cardiac Arrest May Benefit Brain
MONDAY, April 6, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Targeted body temperature management after cardiac arrest might help prevent or lessen brain damage, according to a study published online April 6 in JAMA Neurology.
2014 Bronchiolitis Guidelines Focus on Avoiding Interventions
MONDAY, April 6, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The 2014 new and updated guidelines for management of bronchiolitis largely focus on tests or treatments to avoid, according to a perspective piece published online April 6 in Pediatrics.
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Statistical Model Helps Predict Neonatal Intubation Competency
MONDAY, April 6, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Neonatal intubation competency can be modeled using a Bayesian statistical model, according to a study published online April 6 in Pediatrics.
CDC: Multidrug-Resistant Shigellosis Spreading in U.S.
THURSDAY, April 2, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Travelers are bringing a drug-resistant strain of the Shigella sonnei bacteria to the United States and spreading it to other people, federal health officials warned Thursday. The report is published in the April 3 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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ER Visits for Ischemic Stroke, TIA Down Over Past Decade
TUESDAY, March 31, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Fewer people are being treated in U.S. emergency departments for ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack, which experts read as a sign that current stroke prevention methods are working. Such visits declined 35 percent for adults 18 and older, and 51 percent for those 55 to 74, according to a March data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
Ob-Gyns Say Use Ultrasound First for Pelvic Symptoms
WEDNESDAY, April 1, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Ultrasound should be the first type of imaging used to assess pelvic symptoms in women, a team of obstetricians and gynecologists write in an article published in the April issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Amiodarone Linked to Lowest Risk of Hospitalization in A-Fib
WEDNESDAY, April 1, 2015 (HealthDay News) — For younger patients with atrial fibrillation, amiodarone is associated with the lowest risk of atrial fibrillation hospitalization, while dronedarone has the greatest risk, according to a study published online March 31 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
Obesity Ups Respiratory Events in Peds Procedural Sedation
WEDNESDAY, April 1, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Obesity is associated with increased odds of respiratory events and more frequent need for airway intervention in patients undergoing pediatric procedural sedation, according to a study published online March 27 in Pediatric Anesthesia.
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