Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Emergency Medicine for April 2018. 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.
MONDAY, April 30, 2018 -- Even relatively low-efficacy influenza vaccines can have a high impact, especially with optimal distribution across age groups, according to a study published online April 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
FRIDAY, April 27, 2018 -- For patients with traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), pre-hospital advanced life support (ALS) provided by a physician is associated with increased likelihood of one-month survival, according to a study published online April 25 in JAMA Surgery.
FRIDAY, April 27, 2018 -- There is a high risk of postoperative mortality among patients undergoing lower-limb amputation, according to a study published online April 5 in Diabetes Care.
THURSDAY, April 26, 2018 -- For patients with ischemic stroke, treatment with tenecteplase within 4.5 hours of symptom onset and before thrombectomy is associated with better outcomes than treatment with alteplase during the same timeframe, according to a study published in the April 26 issue the New England Journal of Medicine.
THURSDAY, April 26, 2017 -- The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and local agencies are holding the 15th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day across the country this Saturday, April 28.
WEDNESDAY, April 25, 2018 -- Patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) seem to have a high rate of suicide, according to a perspective piece published in the April 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
WEDNESDAY, April 25, 2018 -- U.S. hospitals will have to post their standard prices online and make it easier for patients to access their electronic medical records, Medicare officials said Tuesday.
TUESDAY, April 24, 2018 -- Firearm homicides are much more common among black men compared to white men, particularly in rust belt states, according to a study published online April 24 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
MONDAY, April 23, 2018 -- Patients prefer physicians who engage in face-to-face (F2F) clinic visits, rather than those using an examination room computer (ERC), according to a research letter published online April 19 in JAMA Oncology.
MONDAY, April 23, 2018 -- Pediatric exposures to liquid nicotine decreased from 2015 to 2016, but exposure still poses serious risks to children, according to a study published online April 23 in Pediatrics.
THURSDAY, April 19, 2018 -- For patients on hemodialysis, opioids are associated with adverse outcomes, according to a study published online April 19 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
WEDNESDAY, April 18, 2018 -- For patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), triple therapy is associated with a reduced rate of exacerbations, according to a study published online April 18 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
TUESDAY, April 17, 2018 -- The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concludes that exercise interventions may be beneficial for preventing falls in older adults; however, the evidence is insufficient to weigh the benefits and harms of vitamin D, calcium, and combined supplementation. These findings form the basis of two recommendation statements published April 17 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
TUESDAY, April 17, 2018 -- Regular intake of coffee and tea does not appear to be associated with the risk of arrhythmia, according to a review published in the April 1 issue of JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology.
TUESDAY, April 17, 2018 -- The newly developed UTICalc calculator can be used to guide testing and treatment in children with suspected urinary tract infection (UTI), according to a study published online April 16 in JAMA Pediatrics.
MONDAY, April 16, 2018 -- In a position paper published online April 17 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, recommendations are provided aimed at addressing gender equity in physician compensation and career advancement opportunities.
MONDAY, April 16, 2018 -- Short-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is associated with increased health care utilization for acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI), according to a study published online April 13 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
MONDAY, April 16, 2018 -- Youth with gender nonconformity are vulnerable to experiencing adversity, and transgender and/or gender nonconforming (TGNC) youth have higher prevalence of mental health conditions, according to two studies published online April 16 in Pediatrics.
MONDAY, April 16, 2018 -- The number of drinks consumed in high school students' binge drinking episodes predicts other health risk behaviors, according to a study published online April 10 in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
MONDAY, April 16, 2018 -- The estimated annual cost of drug-related morbidity and mortality resulting from nonoptimized medication therapy is more than half a trillion dollars in the United States, according to a study published online March 26 in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy.
FRIDAY, April 13, 2018 -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday that it has issued tough new restrictions on the sale of dietary supplements that contain dangerously high amounts of caffeine.
THURSDAY, April 12, 2018 -- The burden of prior authorization (PA) has increased over the past five years, and 92 percent of physicians report associated delays in access to care, according to the results of a survey published by the American Medical Association (AMA).
THURSDAY, April 12, 2018 -- From 1990 to 2016 there were decreases in cardiovascular disease (CVD) disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in all states across the United States, according to a study published online April 11 in JAMA Cardiology.
WEDNESDAY, April 11, 2018 -- Sleep deficiency due to sleep apnea or sleep duration less than seven hours is associated with motor vehicle crashes independent of self-reported excessive sleepiness, according to a study published online March 20 in BMC Medicine.
WEDNESDAY, April 11, 2018 -- For all adults, and especially for those older than 65 years, smoke exposure is associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular emergency department visits, according to a study published online April 11 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
WEDNESDAY, April 11, 2018 -- Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with increased risk of dementia, according to a study published online April 10 in The Lancet Psychiatry.
WEDNESDAY, April 11, 2018 -- Civilian prehospital tourniquet application is associated with a six-fold mortality reduction in patients with peripheral vascular injuries, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
TUESDAY, April 10, 2018 -- There are considerable differences in the burden of disease at the state level, according to a study published in the April 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
TUESDAY, April 10, 2018 -- Changes can be implemented to help reduce physician frustration with electronic health records (EHRs), according to an article published in Medical Economics.
TUESDAY, April 10, 2018 -- Whole body computed tomography (WBCT) is not associated with reduced mortality compared with a selective CT approach among children with blunt trauma, according to a study published online April 9 in JAMA Pediatrics.
FRIDAY, April 6, 2018 -- New interns' intense and changing schedules take a toll on sleep, activity, and mood, according to a study published online March 14 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
FRIDAY, April 6, 2018 -- Cosmetic surgery procedures done in developing countries can carry substantial risks of complications that U.S. providers and payers must handle, according to a study published in the April issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
FRIDAY, April 6, 2018 -- The Child Opportunity Index measure of neighborhood context is associated with pediatric acute care visit frequency and diagnoses, according to a study published online April 6 in Pediatrics.
THURSDAY, April 5, 2018 -- Online physician reviews do not reflect patient satisfaction surveys (PSSs), according to a study published in the April issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
THURSDAY, April 5, 2018 -- The Affordable Care Act's Marketplaces covered a disproportionate share of non-elderly adults with high health care risks in the 2014 to 2015 time period, according to a study published in the April issue of Health Affairs.
THURSDAY, April 5, 2018 -- The Pittsburgh Atlas provides a new framework for emergency and trauma care regional referrals in the United States, according to a study published online March 28 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
WEDNESDAY, April 4, 2018 -- Medicare's Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program is associated with a narrowing of racial disparities in hospital readmissions, according to a study published in the April issue of Health Affairs.
WEDNESDAY, April 4, 2018 -- State implementation of medical marijuana laws is associated with a reduction in the rate of opioid prescribing, according to a study published online April 2 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
WEDNESDAY, April 4, 2018 -- There is considerable variation in the quality of free-text patient directions (Sig) in electronic prescriptions (e-prescriptions), according to a study published online April 2 in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy.
TUESDAY, April 3, 2018 -- From 2015 to 2016, there were increases in deaths across all drug categories examined, with 63,632 drug overdose deaths in 2016, according to research published in the March 30 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
MONDAY, April 2, 2018 -- Perceptions of the organ donation experience vary between relatives who decide to donate their relative's organs and those who do not, but the decision does not appear to be associated with subsequent grief symptoms, according to a study published online March 19 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
MONDAY, April 2, 2018 -- Preoperative chronic opioid use is associated with poor outcomes and continued dependence after posterior lumbar fusion, according to a study published online March 20 in Spine.