Emergency Medicine News and Research

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Stranded in the ER, seniors await hospital care and suffer avoidable harm

Every day, the scene plays out in hospitals across America: Older men and women lie on gurneys in emergency room corridors moaning or suffering silently as harried medical staff attend to crises.

6 May 2024

Eye ultrasound method may rapidly detect shunt failure in children

Use of an eye ultrasound may quickly and safely identify children with brain drainage tube failure in the emergency department, according to a new study.

3 May 2024

Equal vaccination rates found among undocumented Latinx ER patients in the U.S.

For undocumented Latinx patients who sought care in the emergency room during the pandemic, the reported rate of having received the COVID-19 vaccine was found to be the same as U.S. citizens, a new UCLA Health study found.

26 Apr 2024

Study: Housing insecurity prevalent among emergency department patients

Housing insecurity is an issue for 1 in 20 patients who go to emergency departments at major medical centers in the Southeast, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) study published in JAMA Network Open.

26 Apr 2024

Racial disparities found in delayed COVID-19 testing among healthcare workers

At the height of the pandemic, timely access to COVID-19 testing was crucial for curbing the spread of the disease and informing treatment decisions.

25 Apr 2024

Anesthetic midazolam boosts survival after cardiac arrest

If a patient is successfully resuscitated after a cardiac arrest and circulation resumes, they are not out of the woods yet.

24 Apr 2024

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Arizona turns back the clock on abortion access

The Arizona Supreme Court shook up the national abortion debate this week, ruling that a ban originally passed in 1864 — before the end of the Civil War and decades before Arizona became a state — could be enforced.

12 Apr 2024

Study finds racial disparities in chemical sedation rates for psychiatric patients in the EDs

Black patients presenting at Emergency Departments (EDs) across the country with psychiatric complaints are 63 percent more likely to be chemically sedated than their white counterparts.

8 Apr 2024

Remote monitoring for COVID-19 patients shows no benefit from pulse oximetry

Using a pulse oximeter to measure oxygen levels is no better than just regularly asking patients with COVID-19 if they are short of breath, according to new research at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania.

8 Apr 2024

End of internet subsidies for low-income households threatens telehealth access

For Cindy Westman, $30 buys a week's worth of gas to drive to medical appointments and run errands.

4 Apr 2024

Attacks on emergency room workers prompt debate over tougher penalties

Patients hurl verbal abuse at Michelle Ravera every day in the emergency room. Physical violence is less common, she said, but has become a growing threat.

3 Apr 2024

Rise in severe psychiatric cases among children during the pandemic

A new study found that during the pandemic pediatric emergency departments (EDs) saw more children and adolescents who needed a psychiatric admission, as well as an increase in severe conditions, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and substance use disorders.

2 Apr 2024

Emergency departments prove fertile ground for smoking cessation success

The Cessation of Smoking Trial in the Emergency Department (COSTED) study demonstrates that a brief intervention including e-cigarette starter kits can significantly help smokers in emergency departments quit, offering a new avenue to tackle smoking rates and associated health inequalities.

28 Mar 2024

Emergency department intervention aids in long-term smoking cessation

An opportunistic emergency department stop smoking prompt, comprising brief advice by a trained professional, an e-cigarette starter kit, and referral to local stop smoking services can help smokers quit, with a significant proportion of them still not smoking 6 months later, finds research published online in Emergency Medicine Journal.

26 Mar 2024