Emergency Medicine Meetings Research Articles

Conference Proceedings: Southeastern Regional Society of Academic Emergency Medicine Meeting, 2023

The Society of Academic Emergency Medicine Southeastern Regional Meeting Research Forum featured a peer-reviewed line-up of emergency medicine research, innovations, and case reports in oral presentation format at the 2023 SAEM Southeastern Regional Meeting on July 8th, 2023, in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Wendy Coates, President-Elect for SAEM, gave the keynote address. Awards were given to winners in 3 categories: Faculty/Fellow, Resident, and Student.

A suicide prevention strategy for youth presenting to the emergency department with suicide related behaviour: protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundSuicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents in North America. Youth who present to the Emergency Department (ED) with acute suicidality are at increased risk for eventual death by suicide, thereby presenting an opportunity for secondary prevention of suicide. The current study evaluates the effectiveness of a standardized individual and family-based suicidal behaviour risk reduction intervention targeting adolescents at high-risk for suicide.MethodsA randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a manualized youth- and family- based suicide prevention strategy (SPS) as compared with case navigation (NAV) among adolescents aged 12 to 18 years of age who present to the ED with acute suicidal ideation (SI) or suicide risk behaviours (SRB). We will recruit 128 participants and compare psychiatric symptoms including SI/SRB, family communication, and functional impairment at baseline and follow-ups (post-intervention [6 weeks], 24 weeks). The primary outcome is change in suicidal ideation measured with the Suicide Ideation Questionnaire- Junior. SRBs are measured with the Suicide Behaviour Questionnaire. Secondary outcomes are change in depressive and anxious symptoms measured with semi-structured psychiatric interview and Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders; acute mental health crises measured by urgent medical (including ED) visits; family communication measured with Conflict Behaviour Questionnaire, functional impairment measured by Columbia Impairment Scale; cost effectiveness, and fidelity of implementation measured by audio recording and fidelity checklist.DiscussionResults of this study will inform a larger multi-centre RCT that will include both community and academic hospitals in urban and rural settings. Study results will be shared at international psychiatry and emergency medicine meetings, in local rounds, and via publication in academic journals and clinician-oriented newsletters. If effective, the intervention may provide a brief, scalable, and transportable treatment program that may be implemented in a variety of settings, including those in which access to children’s mental health care services is challenging.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03488602, retrospectively registered April 4, 2018.

Scientific Abstracts: 22nd Annual Midwest Regional Society For Academic Emergency Medicine Meeting

Scientific Abstracts: 22nd Annual Midwest Regional Society For Academic Emergency Medicine Meeting

The 2011 PEMpix Photo Competition Award Winner

This is a case report of 7-year-old boy who presented with diplopia. Physical examination was remarkable for pallor and right-eye proptosis. Differential diagnosis of this chief complaint and the management of the suspected condition are discussed. This case was presented at the Section of Emergency Medicine Meeting at the National Conference and Exhibition of the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2011 and was awarded first place in the PEMpix photo competition.

Scientific Abstracts: 21st Annual Midwest Regional Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Meeting, Toledo, Ohio, November 7, 2011*

Scientific Abstracts: 21st Annual Midwest Regional Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Meeting, Toledo, Ohio, November 7, 2011*

In reply

In reply

ACEP Chest Pain Policy: Emergency Physician Awareness

Study objective: To assess emergency physician knowledge of and effect on clinical practice of the ACEP "Clinical Policy for Management of Adult Patients Presenting With a Chief Complaint of Chest Pain, With No History of Trauma." Methods: We conducted a written survey of attending physicians by mail and in person at emergency medicine meetings. Residents were surveyed at their academic departments. The survey recipients were emergency physicians and residents from university, community teaching, urban, and rural hospitals. Results: Of the 338 surveyed physicians, 163 (48%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 43% to 54%) said that they were aware of the policy. Fifty-four percent of ACEP members said they were aware of the policy, compared with 24% of nonmembers. Of the physicians who said they were aware of the policy, 63% did not know that the policy contains rules. Seventy-one percent of the physicians who were aware of the policy incorrectly believed the policy requires treatment with thrombolytic therapy in certain cases of myocardial infarction. Physicians said they learned about the policy by reading it (42%), by word of mouth (16%), or in department/quality-assurance meetings (13%). Twelve percent of physicians believe the policy has changed their clinical practice. Conclusion: Fewer than half the emergency physicians we surveyed were aware of the policy. Of the physicians who said they had been aware of the policy, most did not know important specifics of the policy. [Wigder HN, Arai DA, Narasimhan K, Cohan S: ACEP chest pain policy: Emergency physician awareness. Ann Emerg Med May 1996;27:606-609.] See related editorial, Emergency Medicine Clinical Guidelines: We Can Make Them, but Will We Use Them?