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OBJECTIVE The Bacterial Meningitis Score (BMS) is recommended by pediatric academic societies to rule out the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the BMS to identify adults at no risk for bacterial meningitis. METHODS We conducted a multicentric retrospective study including adults who consulted the emergency department (ED) for meningitis [cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) white blood cells ≥5/mm with a ratio of white blood cells/red blood cells

Introduction Chest pain is a common main complaint in the emergency department. Among its associated differential diagnoses, pulmonary embolism remains a key concern for the clinician. There are no clear recommendations on which patients should have a formal workup for pulmonary embolism diagnosis. The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of patients with chest pain who were investigated for pulmonary embolism diagnosis and to determine the clinical profile of these patients. Methods This was a retrospective multicenter study conducted in three French Emergency Departments. We included all patients who presented to these centers for chest pain during a 2-month period. The primary outcome was the initiation of pulmonary embolism workup. We also aimed to find factors associated with this outcome. Results We included 881 patients with a main complaint of chest pain. Mean age was 50 years and 481 (56%) were men. A total of 263 patients (30%, 95% confidence interval 27-33%) had a formal pulmonary embolism workup, and pulmonary embolism was ultimately diagnosed in 7 cases (prevalence of 2.6%, 95% confidence interval 1.1-5.3%). Five factors were identified as independently associated with a workup for pulmonary embolism diagnosis: female sex, young age, no ischemic heart disease, recent flight and associated dyspnea. Conclusion Among patients presenting to emergency department with chest pain, 30% had a workup for pulmonary embolism. We report five clinical variables independently associated with a higher probability of pulmonary embolism workup in our sample.

Paramount to guide the diagnostic strategy, the prevalence of pulmonary embolism in patients with syncope and no other symptoms is uncertain. We aimed to assess the pulmonary embolism prevalence in patients that present to the emergency department (ED) with syncope and no chest pain nor dyspnea.Multicenter prospective cohort study in seven EDs in France. Adult patients who presented to the ED with syncope (transient loss of consciousness) were included. Patients with chest pain or dyspnea were excluded. Included patients underwent formal work-up for pulmonary embolism, including D-dimer testing and further imaging if positive. Cases of pulmonary embolism were adjudicated by two independent expert radiologists with the review of imaging studies. Secondary objectives included the pulmonary embolism prevalence in the subgroup of patients with cancer, in patients with negative Pulmonary Embolism Rule Out criteria (PERC) score, and according to the clinical probability assessed either by Wells or revised Geneva score.We analyzed 411 patients, in whom 128 (31%) underwent a computed tomographic pulmonary angiogram and 9 (2%) a ventilation-perfusion scan. A pulmonary embolism was confirmed in nine patients (prevalence of 2.2%, 95% confidence interval, 1.1-4.3%), including one subsegmental pulmonary embolism. This prevalence was of 18% (3-52%) in patients with cancer and 0.7% (0.1-4%) in PERC negative patients.In our sample of patients with isolated syncope, the prevalence of pulmonary embolism was 2.2%. This value is not sufficiently low to negate the requirement for a formal work up in the ED, even in the absence of chest pain or dyspnea. However, the large confidence interval precludes any strong conclusion.

We aimed to evaluate the reliability of waiting times (WT) measures electronically retrieved. We prospectively collected true WT in four emergency departments during 20 predefined 2-h inclusion periods, and compared them with the electronically retrieved waiting time (ERWT). We assessed agreement with calculation of rate of outliers (difference exceeding 20 min), bias, and its 95% limits of agreements, and associated Bland and Altman plot. We analyzed 274 patients. The mean difference was -2 min (SD 13) between ERWT and true WT, with a 95% limits of agreements (-28 to 24 min). Bland and Altman plot showed a good agreement, and we report 7% of outliers. Using ERWT, 14 patients (5%) were misclassified as having their target WT exceeded or not. ERWT agree well with the true WT, although the significant rate of outlier and misclassification calls for caution in their interpretation.

The objective of this study was to establish the reliability of different measurements of inferior vena cava (IVC) size and respiratory variation in response to changes in circulating volume. Transabdominal ultrasound measurements of the IVC were obtained in longitudinal (B and M modes) and transverse planes (B-mode height and ellipse circumference) during inspiration and expiration, and inferior vena cava collapsibility indices (IVCci) were calculated. Measurements were repeated following venesection of ∼450 ml. Thirty patients underwent venesection. Their IVCci increased significantly for transverse and longitudinal height measurements following venesection, but not for transverse circumference measurements. Transverse views were inadequate in 27% of patients, compared with 7% for longitudinal views (P=0.04). Changes in IVCci are sensitive to small changes in circulating volume. Measurements are most frequently achieved in the longitudinal plane. There is an urgent need for standardization of sonographic IVC measurement techniques.

INTRODUCTION Near-infrared spectrometry assesses hemoglobin saturation of oxygen in tissues (StO2). Although it may provide additional information on local microcirculation function, the usefulness of near-infrared spectrometry in septic patients is debated. This study evaluated whether baseline StO2 value is useful in septic patients admitted to the emergency department with a diagnosis of severe sepsis. MATERIALS AND METHODS We carried out a prospective multicenter study in three emergency departments in Paris, France. Triage nurses were to record StO2, the results were blinding to the emergency physicians. Patients were eligible when presenting with at least two of the following parameters: temperature higher than 38°C or less than 36°C, respiratory rate greater than 30/min, heart rate greater than 120/min, and systolic arterial blood pressure less than 110 mmHg. Patients with a final diagnosis of sepsis and severe sepsis were analyzed. RESULTS We analyzed 98 patients (70 with sepsis and 28 with severe sepsis). Thirty-day mortality was 2.9 versus 14.3% (P=0.048) in the sepsis and the severe sepsis group, respectively. No significant difference in the median StO2 was observed in patients with sepsis and severe sepsis [79% (74-85%) vs. 77% (72-83%), respectively; P=0.66]. The area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic curve for StO2 to predict severe sepsis was 0.53 (0.39-0.66; P=0.5) and the cutoff value was 77%. Median StO2 did not differ in patients admitted to the ICU [80% (60-88%) vs. 79% (74-84%); P=0.78] and in nonsurvivors compared with that of survivors [79% (74-85%) vs. 76% (73-83%); P=0.64]. CONCLUSION This study fails to show any value of StO2 baseline at triage for early detection of severe sepsis in emergency patients.

Aim Before implementing new workshops and teaching in our faculty for performing basic life support (BLS), we aimed to determine the level of self-confidence of medical students with regard to the management of cardiac arrest (CA). Methods We conducted a preinterventional study. A questionnaire was sent to third-year to sixth-year medical students. We recorded sex, year of training, and personal witnessing of CA. We asked them about their theoretical knowledge on 10 main items of BLS and their self-perception of qualification to conduct a CA situation. We tested the respective influence of sex, year of training, and personal witnessing of CA. Results In total, 592 (37%) students completed the questionnaire, 42% of them were men. Less than a third of the students (30%) thought of themselves as being sufficiently qualified to conduct BLS. After the third year, the level of study did not influence their theoretical knowledge or their self-perception of qualification. Male sex and the number of CAs witnessed were the only factors positively associated with better self-confidence regarding qualification. Conclusion Self-perception of qualification in BLS is poor in our faculty. In our study, personal witnessing of CA greatly influenced confidence, whereas level of study did not.

OBJECTIVES When managing airways in a prehospital setting, emergency physicians have to deal with difficult intubation (DI), which increases morbidity and mortality. The primary goal of this study was to determine predictors of DI in the out-of-hospital field faced by the French physician-staffed Emergency Medical Service. METHODS The study was a prospective, observational study, including all consecutive patients intubated during a 30-month period. Patients having experienced standard intubation (two attempts or less) or DI (more than two attempts) were compared. RESULTS Six hundred and ninety-four patients were included: 70 (11%) were classified as DI and 583 as standard intubations. Logistic regression showed that airways obstruction [odds ratio (OR), 4.1; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.71-14.4], intubation on the floor (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.04-6.6), and a hyoid-mental distance less than three fingers (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.2-4.7) were independent predictors of DI. Immediate complications occurred in 89 patients (16%): 66 (11%) in the standard intubation group and 23 (31%) in the DI group (P

In this study we aimed to determine whether isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) bolus is associated with hypotension in patients aged at least 75 years presenting to an emergency department (ED) with acute heart failure (AHF) syndrome. This is a retrospective study, and all patients with AHF presenting in our ED during 2007 were included. We included 136 patients: 25 (18%) of them received ISDN in bolus (group B) among other treatments, and 111 (82%) did not (group O). Baseline characteristics of the two groups were not similar, with a higher rate of hypertension in group B. The mean lower systolic blood pressure after treatment was similar: 116±18 mmHg in group O compared with 116±19 mmHg in group B+, and was less than 90 mmHg in 0% cases in group B+ versus 3% in group O (P=0.5). Secondary endpoints were not significant, with mortality in group B of 4% versus 10% in group O (P=0.32). ISDN is not associated with more hypotension when used in bolus for elderly patients treated in the ED for AHF.