With the objective of estimating the time elapsed between the beginning of the signs and symptoms of a heart attack until the arrival at the cardiology emergency service (Delta T) and the factors that influence in this process, 112 patients were studied, with an infarction diagnosis with supraunleveling ST segment. The delta T was on average of 3h59+/-2h55min; 99(88%) of those patients sought o...

conclusions according to the results, there was a direct correlation between access to physical space in ed and waiting time. in addition, improving the physical access did not necessarily result in shorter waiting time. therefore, to improve triage process, improvement of waiting time indices, and modifying forms of work process in ed are recommended. results the correlation between the waitin...

Emergency contraception is used to prevent pregnancy in the event of unprotected sexual intercourse. The most common methods of emergency contraception are combination and progestin-only oral contraceptive pills. They are effective, safe, and have few side effects. Most physicians are aware of emergency contraception, yet it is not widely prescribed or used. The American Medical Association and...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether a new protocol, using a rapid and sensitive CK-MB(mass) assay and serial sampling, can rule out myocardial infarction in patients with chest pain and decrease their length of stay in the cardiac emergency room without increasing risk. DESIGN The combined incidence of cardiac death and acute myocardial infarction at 30 days, six months, and 24 months of follow up...

Introduction Physician wellness has recently become a popular topic of conversation and publication within the house of medicine and specifically within emergency medicine (EM). Through a joint collaboration involving Academic Life in Emergency Medicine's (ALiEM) Wellness Think Tank, Essentials of Emergency Medicine (EEM), and the Emergency Medicine Residents' Association (EMRA), a one-day Resi...

The purpose of this paper is to examine the circumstances surrounding the Asian tsunami emergency of 2004 and to propose a relief logistics model that suggests an alternative response mechanism to those which are currently in place. The tsunami waves that hit Thailand on December 26th 2004 and the chaos that followed highlighted the very low level of preparedness on the part of the Thai authori...

In recent years, there has been a rise in Major Incidents with big impact on the citizens health and the society. Without the possibility of conducting live experiments when it comes to physical and/or toxic trauma, only an accurate in silico reconstruction allows us to identify organizational solutions with the best possible chance of success, in correlation with the limitations on available r...

National Security/Emergency Preparedness (NS/EP) requires effective communications supporting leadership and key staff in their access to information and their coordination of decisions. Results of testing voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) as a Next-Generation Network (NGN) application are presented and illustrate that effective NS/EP support is at risk during congestion possible in events re...

Through the use of focus group discussions, the authors have identified a critical information gap on the part of our nation’s emergency care providers with respect to radiological emergencies. The issues raised in the article highlight the importance of a central source of authoritative information and guidance accessible to providers at the time of an event as well as to those individuals res...