Emergency Medicine News

• What Happened When the Only ER Doctor in a Rural Town Got COVID When the lone emergency room doctor in a Colorado town of 900 got sick with COVID, the repercussions were felt throughout the region.
  Kaiser Health News, December 04, 2020
• PPE Shortage Crisis Continues at Most Hospitals, Survey Shows Nearly 3 in 4 infection prevention experts say facilities remain in crisis mode, with shortages of respirators, masks, face shields, and other personal protective equipment.
  Medscape Medical News, December 04, 2020
• New Residency Matching Sets Record, Says NRMP Highest number of applicants ever are matched to subspecialty training positions, as number of US MD and international grads both rise.
  Medscape Medical News, December 04, 2020
• U.S. Emergency Call System Faces 'Breaking Point' The U.S. broke an all-time high Wednesday with more than 100,200 COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the country.
  WebMD Health News, December 04, 2020
• As Hospitals Fill Up, Some COVID-19 Patients Are Sent Home Patients who might have been admitted to the hospital in the early days of the pandemic are now being sent home, primarily as a result of gaps in staffing and beds.
  Medscape Medical News, December 03, 2020
• Possible Warning Clinicians Can Miss Before an HF Admission It may be common not to heed the signal, but that's a missed opportunity to arrive at a heart failure diagnosis that might otherwise be made only after the patient is admitted, a study suggests.
  Medscape Medical News, December 03, 2020
• Which Prehospital Scale Best Flags Large Vessel Stroke? A new study compares seven different scales used by paramedics to identify patients most suitable for direct transport to a comprehensive stroke center.
  Medscape Medical News, December 03, 2020
• COVID-19: Hand Sanitizer Poisonings Soar, Psych Patients at Risk Cases of poisoning -- intentional and unintentional -- from ingestion of alcohol-based hand sanitizer have soared during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Medscape Medical News, December 02, 2020
• RSNA 2020 Nondisplaced Ulna Fracture Could Mean Intimate-Partner Violence Records from six EDs suggest that about a third of ulna fractures in women may be related to intimate-partner violence, but many of those women initially denied that their partner was responsible.
  Medscape Medical News, December 02, 2020
• Medicare Finalizes 2021 Physician Pay Rule With E/M Changes Medicare stuck with a plan to raise payments for specialties that focus on helping patients manage chronic conditions. The increases will be offset by cuts for other fields, drawing protests.
  Medscape Medical News, December 02, 2020
• Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout to Start Next Week After UK Approval UK approval for Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine described as a 'momentous day' in the fight against COVID-19.
  Medscape News UK, December 02, 2020
• ACIP: Health Workers, Long-term Care Residents First for Vaccine The recommendation from the CDC's vaccine advisory committee aims to preserve healthcare capacity and reduce illness and death among the most vulnerable.
  Medscape Medical News, December 01, 2020
• Celebrity Doctor Chastised After Maskless Boat Party Photo Mikhail Varshavski, aka "Dr Mike," apologized after he was seen without a mask amid partiers on a crowded boat deck. Then a nurse bragged about going maskless. Should providers be held to a higher standard?
  Medscape Medical News, December 01, 2020
• COVID-19 Linked to Tracheal Complications in Ventilated Patients COVID-19 patients receiving prolonged, invasive mechanical ventilation are much more likely than non-COVID patients on ventilators to develop tracheal complications, a new cohort study shows.
  Reuters Health Information, November 30, 2020
• 'Clear Evidence' Oral Steroid Effective for 'Suicide Headache' A new study provides the first "clear evidence" that oral corticosteroids significantly reduce attacks for patients with cluster headache.
  Medscape Medical News, December 01, 2020
• Warp Speed's Slaoui Says COVID Spread Speeding Vaccine Development He expects efficacy results for two more vaccines in early January, and says he'll step back from his role in Operation Warp Speed at that time.
  Medscape Medical News, December 01, 2020
• Rationale for Baricitinib's Use in COVID-19 Patients Demonstrated To demonstrate within a few months that baricitinib reduces mortality and morbidity in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia required a cross-disciplinary international team of researchers.
  Medscape Medical News, December 01, 2020
• CMS Launches Hospital-at-Home Program to Free Up Hospital Capacity The agency's move is likely to prompt more hospitals to start similar initiatives and persuade more private insurers to cover hospital-at-home care.
  Medscape Medical News, November 30, 2020
• FDA Says It Won't Object to Dry Heat Use on N95 Respirators The new policy, which recognizes the ongoing PPE shortage amid the COVID-19 pandemic, goes into effect immediately.
  Medscape Medical News, November 30, 2020
• Many Die From Snakebites Despite the Availability of Antivenom Snakebites may have claimed nearly 65,000 lives globally last year and are accountable for 3 million years of life lost, placing them at the top of the list of neglected tropical diseases, a new modeling study suggests.
  Reuters Health Information, November 27, 2020