Emergency and critical care

Study results published in JAMA suggest that tracheal intubation performed within the first 15 minutes of in-hospital cardiac arrest is associated with decreased survival compared with no intubation during this timeframe.

Results of a randomized trial suggest that shared decision making facilitated by an aid increases knowledge of acute coronary syndrome risk and reduces hospital admissions compared with usual care among patients with low-risk chest pain in the emergency department.

Analysis of the Get With The Guidelines–Resuscitation registry suggests that therapeutic hypothermia does not benefit and may even harm patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest.

Reducing systolic blood pressure to less than 140 mmHg has offered no benefits over standard care for patients with acute intracerebral haemorrhage in the ATACH-2 trial.

A clinical decision rule can safely replace diagnostic radiography in the majority of children presenting to hospital with acute ankle injuries, say Canadian researchers.

Serial physical examination has more impact than computed tomography findings on therapy decisions in patients with abdominal stab wounds, shows a prospective analysis.

Data from the Get With The Guidelines–Stroke initiative show the benefits of prompt thrombolysis in clinical practice.

The high risk for infection in patients with extensive soft tissue damage around an open fracture is not reduced by extending the duration of antibiotic treatment, research suggests.

The results of INTERACT2 show that blood pressure in patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage can be reduced to within the normotensive range without excess adverse effects.

Results from a proof-of-concept study point to a role for sodium nitroprusside in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Results from a survey carried out in Colorado, USA, show that a small but significant number of children in the region are killed or injured by firearms every year.

An intensive teaching session helps emergency department physicians to reliably interpret head computed tomography scans when a radiologist is not on duty, a study shows.

The diameter of the inferior vena cava on ultrasound correlates strongly with central venous pressure in neonates, research shows.

Giving critically ill patients with multiorgan failure intravenous and enteral glutamine supplements increases mortality at 6 months, and antioxidant supplements have no effect, a study shows.

Researchers have developed a clinical prediction model to assess the likelihood of different serious bacterial infections in children presenting at the emergency department with fever.

Parents may unduly influence whether or not their child undergoes cranial computed tomography after sustaining minor blunt head trauma, researchers warn.

Use of ultrasound imaging helps to minimize adjustments, failures, and trauma during lumbar puncture or epidural catheterization, conclude the authors of a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Patients admitted to the emergency department with hypertension and suspected end-organ damage reach target systolic blood pressure faster with a nicardipine infusion than a labetalol bolus, research suggests.

US researchers have developed a real-time electronic screening tool to help emergency department physicians identify patients with pneumonia.

Nurse understaffing relative to national guidelines is associated with higher rates of infection among very-low-birthweight infants in US neonatal intensive care units, a study shows.