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STUDY OBJECTIVE: To synthesize the evidence regarding the infection risk associated with different modalities of oxygen therapy used in treating patients with severe acute respiratory infection. Health care workers face significant risk of infection when treating patients with a viral severe acute respiratory infection. To ensure health care worker safety and limit nosocomial transmission of such infection, it is crucial to synthesize the evidence regarding the infection risk associated with different modalities of oxygen therapy used in treating patients with severe acute respiratory infection. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from January 1, 2000, to April 1, 2020, for studies describing the risk of infection associated with the modalities of oxygen therapy used for patients with severe acute respiratory infection. The study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment were performed by independent reviewers. The primary outcome measure was the infection of health care workers with a severe acute respiratory infection. Random-effect models were used to synthesize the extracted data. RESULTS: Of 22,123 citations, 50 studies were eligible for qualitative synthesis and 16 for meta-analysis. Globally, the quality of the included studies provided a very low certainty of evidence. Being exposed or performing an intubation (odds ratio 6.48; 95% confidence interval 2.90 to 14.44), bag-valve-mask ventilation (odds ratio 2.70; 95% confidence interval 1.31 to 5.36), and noninvasive ventilation (odds ratio 3.96; 95% confidence interval 2.12 to 7.40) were associated with an increased risk of infection. All modalities of oxygen therapy generate air dispersion. CONCLUSION: Most modalities of oxygen therapy are associated with an increased risk of infection and none have been demonstrated as safe. The lowest flow of oxygen should be used to maintain an adequate oxygen saturation for patients with severe acute respiratory infection, and manipulation of oxygen delivery equipment should be minimized.

Objective Opioid side effects are common when treating chronic pain. However, the frequency of opioid side effects has rarely been examined in acute pain conditions, particularly in a post emergency department (ED) setting. The objective of this study was to evaluate the short-term incidence of opioid-induced side effects (constipation, nausea/vomiting, dizziness, drowsiness, sweating, and weakness) in patients discharged from the ED with an opioid prescription. Methods This is a prospective cohort study of patients aged ≥18 years who visited the ED for an acute pain condition (≤2 weeks) and were discharged with an opioid prescription. Patients completed a 14-day diary assessing daily pain medication use and side effects. Results We recruited 386 patients with a median age of 54 years (IQR:43–66); 50% were women. During the 2-week follow-up, 80% of patients consumed opioids. Among the patients who used opioids, 79% (95%CI:75–83) reported side effects compared to 38% (95%CI:27–49) for non-users. Adjusting for age, sex, and pain condition, patients who used opioids were more likely to report constipation (OR:7.5; 95%CI:3.1–17.9), nausea/vomiting (OR:4.1; 95%CI:1.8–9.5), dizziness (OR:5.4; 95%CI: 2.2–13.2), drowsiness (OR:4.6; 95%CI:2.5–8.7), and weakness (OR:4.2; 95%CI:1.6–11.0) compared to non-users. A dose-response trend was observed for constipation but not for the other side effects. Nausea/vomiting (OR:2.0; 95%CI:1.1–3.6) and dizziness (OR:1.9; 95%CI:1.1–3.4) were more often associated with oxycodone than with morphine. Conclusion As observed for chronic pain treatment, side effects are highly prevalent during short-term opioid treatment for acute pain. Physicians should inform patients about those side effects and should consider prescribing laxatives.

Background There is variability in the management of patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) and abnormal findings on their initial head computed tomography (CT). The main objective of this study was to validate the value of the Important Brain Injury (IBI) criteria, introduced by the Canadian CT-Head Rule, in predicting the need for surgical intervention. The secondary objective was to identify independent predictors for neurosurgical intervention. Methods This is a post hoc analysis of a prospective cohort of adult patients presenting to the ED of one tertiary care, academic center, between 2008 and 2012, with MTBI and an abnormal initial head CT. Neurosurgical intervention was at the discretion of the treating physician. The sensitivity and specificity of the IBI criteria were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CI95%). A multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify independent predictors for neurosurgical intervention with the direct entry method. Results A total of 678 patients (male = 65.9%, mean age = 62.5 years) were included, of whom 114 (16.8%) required neurosurgical intervention. All patients requiring neurosurgical intervention met IBI criteria on their initial head CT (sensitivity of 100% [CI95% 96.8–100]). However, 368 (65.2%) patients with findings of IBI did not require neurosurgical intervention (specificity of 34.8% [CI95% 30.8–38.8]). Age over 65 was independently associated with neurosurgical intervention in the IBI population. Conclusion The IBI criteria for MTBI identified all patients who required neurosurgical intervention; however its specificity is low.

This study aimed to evaluate the association between the quantity of subcutaneous fat (assessed by skinfold thickness) and the inter-device agreement of 2 tissue oximeters.This is a prospective cohort study.This study was conducted in a tertiary care academic urban hospital.Healthy volunteers were recruited.All patients recruited had their tissue saturations and skinfold thickness measured at 4 different sites (shoulder, forearm, knee, and calf) on both sides of the body using 2 tissue oximeters, the INVOS 5100C and the EQUANOX 7600.Higher skinfold measures were associated with an increase in the difference between measures provided by both oximeters (slope = -0.59, Pearson correlation coefficient = -0.51, p0.001). This observed association persisted in a linear mixed model (-0.48 [95% confidence interval [CI] -0.61 to -0.36], p0.001). The sex of the volunteers also influenced the inter-oximeter agreement (women: -5.77 [95% CI -8.43 to -3.11], p0.001), as well as the forearm sites (left forearm: -7.16 [95% CI -9.85 to -4.47], p0.001; right forearm:-7.01 [95% CI -9.61 to -4.40], p0.001).The inter-device agreement of the 2 studied oximeters is correlated to the quantity of subcutaneous fat. Monitoring using tissue oximetry should be interpreted with great care when sensors are placed on sites with a significant quantity of subcutaneous fat. In addition to the monitoring of cerebral oximetry, following the variations of saturations at the same peripheral site seems to remain the most secure way to use that technology for the monitoring of critically ill patients.

Study objective The objective of the study is to evaluate the acute pain intensity evolution in emergency department (ED) discharged patients, using group-based trajectory modeling. This method identifies patient groups with similar profiles of change over time without assuming the existence of a particular pattern or number of groups. Methods This was a prospective cohort study of ED patients aged 18 years or older, with an acute pain condition (≤2 weeks), and discharged with an opioid prescription. Patients completed a 14-day diary assessing daily pain intensity level (numeric rating scale of 0 to 10) and pain medication use. Results Among the 372 included patients, 6 distinct post-ED pain intensity trajectories were identified. Two started with severe levels of pain; one remained with severe pain intensity (12.6% of the sample) and the other ended with a moderate pain intensity level (26.3%). Two other trajectories had severe initial pain; one decreased to mild pain (21.7%) and the other to no pain (13.8%). Another trajectory had moderate initial pain that decreased to a mild level (15.9%) and the last one started with mild pain intensity and had no pain at the end of the 14-day period (9.7%). The pain trajectory patterns were significantly associated with age, type of painful conditions, pain intensity at ED discharge, and opioid consumption. Conclusion Acute pain resolution after an ED visit seems to progress through 6 different trajectory patterns that are more informative than simple linear models and could be useful to adapt acute pain management in future research.

Purpose To evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of a combined magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) - magnetic resonance venography (MRV) protocol using contrast agents with blood pool properties, gadofosveset trisodium and gadobenate dimeglumine, in the evaluation of pulmonary embolus (PE) and deep venous thrombosis (DVT) as compared to the standard clinical reference imaging modalities; computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) and color-coded Duplex ultrasound (DUS). Materials and methods This prospective clinical study recruited patients presenting to the emergency department with clinical suspicion for PE and scheduled for a clinically indicated CTPA. We performed both MRA of the chest for the evaluation of PE as well as MRV of the pelvis and thighs to evaluate for DVT using a single contrast injection. MRA-MRV data was compared to the clinical reference standard CTPA and DUS, respectively. Results A total of 40 patients were recruited. The results on a per-patient basis comparing MRA to CTPA for pulmonary embolus yielded 100% sensitivity and 97% specificity. There was a small subset of patients that underwent clinical DUS to evaluate for DVT, which demonstrated a sensitivity and specificity of 100% for MRV. Conclusions This single-center, preliminary study using contrast agents with blood pool properties to perform a relatively rapid combined MRA-MRV exam to image for PE and above knee DVT shows potential as an alternative imaging choice to CTPA. Further large-scale, multicentre studies are warranted.

Patients suffering from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) are frequently transported to the closest hospital. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is often indicated following OHCA. This study's primary objective was to determine the association between being transported to a PCI-capable hospital and survival to discharge for patients with OHCA. The additional delay to hospital arrival which could offset a potential increase in survival associated with being transported to a PCI-capable center was also evaluated.This study used a registry of OHCA in Montreal, Canada. Adult patients transported to a hospital following a non-traumatic OHCA were included. Hospitals were dichotomized based on whether PCI was available on-site or not. The effect of hospital type on survival to discharge was assessed using a multivariable logistic regression. The added prehospital delay which could offset the increase in survival associated with being transported to a PCI-capable center was calculated using that regression.A total of 4922 patients were included, of whom 2389 (48%) were transported to a PCI-capable hospital and 2533 (52%) to a non-PCI-capable hospital. There was an association between being transported to a PCI-capable center and survival to discharge (adjusted odds ratio = 1.60 [95% confidence interval 1.25-2.05], p .001). Increasing the delay from call to hospital arrival by 14.0 min would offset the potential benefit of being transported to a PCI-capable center.It could be advantageous to redirect patients suffering from OHCA patients to PCI-capable centers if the resulting expected delay is of less than 14 min.

A change in prehospital redirection practice could potentially increase the proportion of E-CPR eligible patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) transported to extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (E-CPR) capable centers. The objective of this study was to quantify this potential increase of E-CPR candidates transported to E-CPR capable centers.Adults with non-traumatic OHCA refractory to 15min of resuscitation were selected from a registry of adult OHCA collected between 2010 and 2015 in Montreal, Canada. Using this cohort, three simulation scenarios allowing prehospital redirection to E-CPR centers were created. Stringent eligibility criteria for E-CPR and redirection for E-CPR (e.g. age60years old, initial shockable rhythm) were used in the first scenario, intermediate eligibility criteria (e.g. age65years old, at least one shock given) in the second scenario and inclusive eligibility criteria (e.g. age70years old, initial rhythm ≠ asystole) in the third scenario. All three scenarios were contrasted with equivalent scenarios in which patients were transported to the closest hospital. Proportions were compared using McNemar's test.The proportion of E-CPR eligible patients transported to E-CPR capable centers increased in each scenario (stringent criteria: 48 [24.5%] vs 155 patients [79.1%], p0.001; intermediate criteria: 81 [29.6%] vs 262 patients [95.6%], p0.001; inclusive criteria: 238 [23.9%] vs 981 patients [98.5%], p0.001).A prehospital redirection system could significantly increase the number of patients with refractory OHCA transported to E-CPR capable centers, thus increasing their access to this potentially life-saving procedure, provided allocated resources are planned accordingly.

Objective Hypersomnia is frequently reported after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), but its cause(s) remain elusive. This study examined sleep/wake activity after mTBI and its association with pain, a comorbidity often associated with insomnia. Methods Actigraphy recording was performed for 7 ± 2 consecutive days in 56 individuals at one month post-mTBI (64% male; 38 ± 12 years), 24 individuals at one year post-mTBI (58% male; 44 ± 11years), and in 20 controls (50% male; 37 ± 12 years). Pain intensity and its effect on quality of life was assessed with a visual analogue scale and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) bodily pain subscale. Results Overall, few differences in sleep/wake patterns were found between mTBI patients and controls. However, higher percentages of mTBI individuals with moderate-to-severe pain were found to require more than eight hours of sleep per day (37% vs11%; p = 0.04) and to be frequent nappers (defined as those who took three or more naps per week) (42% vs 22%; p = 0.04) compared to those with mild or no pain at one month postinjury. Correcting for age and depression, The SF-36 score was found to be a significant predictor of sleep duration exceeding eight hours per day at one month (odds ratio = 0.95; 95% confidence interval = 0.92–0.99; p = 0.01), but not at one year post-mTBI. Pain and increased sleep need (in terms of hours per day or napping frequency) were found to co-exist in as much as 29% of mTBI patients at one month postinjury. Conclusion Pain could be associated with more pronounced sleep need in about one-third of mTBI patients during early recovery. Unalleviated pain, found in more than 60% of mTBI patients, should therefore be looked for in all mTBI patients reporting new onset of sleep disorder, not only in those with insomnia.

Despite the substantial advances in the understanding of pain mechanisms and management, postoperative pain relief remains an important health care issue. Surgical patients also frequently report postoperative sleep complaints. Major sleep alterations in the postoperative period include sleep fragmentation, reduced total sleep time, and loss of time spent in slow wave and rapid eye movement sleep. Clinical and experimental studies show that sleep disturbances may exacerbate pain, whereas pain and opioid treatments disturb sleep. Surgical stress appears to be a major contributor to both sleep disruptions and altered pain perception. However, pain and the use of opioid analgesics could worsen sleep alterations, whereas sleep disruptions may contribute to intensify pain. Nevertheless, little is known about the relationship between postoperative sleep and pain. Although the sleep-pain interaction has been addressed from both ends, this review focuses on the impact of sleep disruptions on pain perception. A better understanding of the effect of postoperative sleep disruptions on pain perception would help in selecting patients at risk for more severe pain and may facilitate the development of more effective and safer pain management programs.

Study objective Delayed pain treatment is a common problem in emergency departments (EDs). The objective of this study was to examine the effect of age on time to ED patients receiving the first analgesic dose for moderate to severe pain. Methods Real-time, archived data from a tertiary urban hospital and a secondary regional hospital were analyzed post hoc. We included all consecutive adult ED patients (≥ 18 years) on stretchers whose pain intensity was at least 4 (0-10, verbal numerical scale) at triage between March 2008 and December 2012. The primary outcome was time from the beginning of triage to analgesic medication in seniors (≥ 65 years) compared with younger patients. Results A total of 34,213 patients (56% women) were triaged to an ED bed with mean pain intensity of 7.6 (SD ± 1.8). Analgesics were administered to 20,486 patients (59.9%) in a median time of 2.3 hours (interquartile range [IQR] = 3.6). Median time for seniors to receive analgesics was 3.2 hours (IQR = 5.1) compared with 2.1 hours (IQR = 3.1, effect size = 0.19) for younger patients. This represents a 55.2% increase in time to analgesic for seniors. Seniors waited 12 minutes longer to be evaluated by a physician, 20 minutes longer for analgesic prescription, and 35 minutes longer for medication administration. After controlling for confounding factors, they still waited longer to receive pain medication (hazards ratio = 1.37; 95% confidence interval, 1.32-1.42) than younger patients. Conclusion Seniors with moderate to severe pain wait 1.1 hours (55.2%) longer than younger patients to receive analgesics. Physicians and nurses (32 and 35 minutes, respectively) contributed to this disparity.

Objective The aim was to assess the efficacy of two brief cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT)-based interventions (7×1-h sessions and 1×2-h session) and a pharmacological treatment (paroxetine), compared to supportive usual care, initiated in the emergency department (ED) for individuals suffering from panic disorder (PD) with a chief complain of noncardiac chest pain (NCCP). We hypothesized that the interventions would be more efficacious than supportive usual care on all outcomes. Method A 12-month follow-up study of patients who received a diagnosis of NCCP in the ED and who met diagnostic criteria for PD ( n =71) was performed. Assessments included several psychological questionnaires and a structured interview. A series of repeated-measures analyses of variances, using a split-plot design, were conducted, as well as planned comparisons to examine the differences. Results The seven-session CBT ( n =19), one-session panic management ( n =24) and pharmacotherapy ( n =13) led to greater improvements in PD severity (primary outcome) compared to supportive usual care ( n =15) at posttest, and no significant difference was noted between the three active interventions. On the other measures, patients improved in all conditions, and the therapeutic gains were maintained up to 1 year following the visit to the ED. Conclusions These results suggests that early intervention, in particular seven sessions of CBT, one session of PM or pharmacotherapy (generic paroxetine), should be considered for the treatment of PD patients consulting the ED with a discharge diagnosis of NCCP.

Objectives The present study aims to document the problem of suicidality in emergency department (ED) patients with unexplained chest pain and to assess the strength and independence of the relationship between panic and suicidal ideation (SI) in this population. Method This cross-sectional study included 572 ED patients with unexplained chest pain. SI, history of suicide attempts, history of SI and the presence of thoughts about how to commit suicide were assessed. Logistic regression analyses were used to quantify the relationship between current SI and panic. Results Approximately 15% [95% confidence interval (CI), 12%–18%] of patients reported current SI, and 33% (95% CI, 29%–37%) reported history of SI. Nearly 19% (95% CI, 16%–22%) of patients had thought about a method to commit suicide, and 33% (95% CI, 29%–37%) had a history of a suicide attempt. Panic attacks were diagnosed in 42% (95% CI, 38%–46%) of patients, and 45% (95% CI, 39%–51%) of those had panic disorder. Panic increased the crude likelihood of current SI [odds ratio (OR)=2.53, 1.4–4.5]. This increase in SI risk remained significant after controlling for confounding factors (OR=1.70, 95% CI, 1.0–2.9). Conclusions Suicidality and SI were common and often severe in our sample of ED patients with unexplained chest pain.

Background Brief and efficacious interventions for panic disorder (PD) in patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs) for chest pain are essential. This study assessed the effects of 2 interventions for this population: a brief cognitive-behavioral therapy delivered by psychologists, and a 6-month pharmacologic treatment initiated and managed by the ED physician. The relative efficacy of both interventions was also examined. Materials and Methods Forty-seven adult patients meeting the diagnostic criteria for PD upon presentation to the ED were assigned to 1 of 3 experimental conditions: a brief cognitive-behavioral therapy (7 sessions), a pharmacologic intervention (paroxetine; 6 months); and a usual care control condition. The primary outcome was severity of PD on Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition , and secondary outcomes included measures of PD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and cardiac anxiety. Outcome measures were taken at baseline, postintervention, as well as at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Results Patients receiving either intervention demonstrated significant reductions of PD severity ( P = .012), frequency of panic attacks ( P = .048), and depressive symptoms ( P = .027). Conclusion Taken together, these findings suggest that empirically validated interventions for PD initiated in an ED setting can be feasible and efficacious, and future studies should assess their impact on both the direct (ie, health care utilization) and indirect (ie, lost productivity) costs associated with PD morbidity in this population.

Purpose This study aimed at (1) establishing the prevalence of paniclike anxiety in emergency department (ED) patients with unexplained chest pain (UCP); (2) describing and comparing the sociodemographic, medical, and psychiatric characteristics of UCP patients with and without paniclike anxiety; and (3) measuring the rate of identification of panic in this population. Basic Procedure A structured interview, the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition , was administered to identify paniclike anxiety and evaluate patients' psychiatric status. Anxious and depressive symptoms were evaluated with self-report questionnaires. Medical information was extracted from patients' medical records. Main Findings The prevalence of paniclike anxiety was 44% (95% CI, 40%-48%) in the sample (n = 771). Psychiatric disorders were more common in panic patients (63.4% vs 20.1%), as were suicidal thoughts (21.3% vs 11.3%). Emergency physician diagnosed only 7.4% of panic cases. Principal Conclusions Paniclike anxiety is common in ED patients with UCP, and this condition is rarely diagnosed in this population.

Background Sleep complaints (e.g., frequent awakenings, nightmares), headaches and mood alterations (e.g., feeling depressed, irritable) can appear following a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). The objective of this retrospective study was to assess the relationships between the above symptoms. Our hypothesis was that sleep complaints might be among the risk factors for the development of headaches and mood alterations. Methods The consecutive charts of 443 patients (68.2% males vs. 31.8% female; mean age of 46.9 years) diagnosed with MTBI were reviewed for past medical history and above symptoms using the Rivermead post-concussion symptom assessment questionnaire and self-report. Data were retrieved in 2 time courses: 10 days and 6 weeks. Results For the 2 time courses, the prevalence of subjective sleep complaints were 13.3% and 33.5%; headaches 46.8% and 39.3%; feeling depressed 9.5% and 20.4%; and feeling irritable 5.6% and 20.2%, respectively. Reports of sleep complaints at 6 weeks were 2.9 times ( p = 0.004) more likely if such a symptom was reported at 10 days. Moreover, the presence of sleep complaints at 10 days is associated with concomitant headaches, depressive symptoms, and feeling irritable by 2.3, 9.9, and 12.2 times ( p = 0.0001 and 0.014); and by 2.9, 6.3, and 4.8 times ( p = 0.0001) at 6 weeks, respectively. Conclusions Our results suggest that patients afflicted with sleep complaints are more likely to suffer from concomitant headaches, depressive symptoms, and irritability.

Objectives This study evaluates the impacts of seasonal and lunar cycles on anxiety and mood disorders, panic and suicidal ideation in patients consulting the emergency department (ED) with a complaint of unexplained chest pain (UCP). Methods Patients with UCP were recruited from two EDs. Psychiatric diagnoses were evaluated with the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-IV. Results Significant seasonal effects were observed on panic and anxiety disorders, with panic more frequently encountered during spring [odds ratio (OR)=1.378, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.002–1.896] and anxiety disorders during summer (OR=1.586, 95% CI=1.037–2.425). Except for one significant finding, no significant effects of lunar cycles were observed. These findings encourage ED professionals and physicians to abandon their beliefs about the influence of lunar cycles on the mental health of their patients. Such unfounded beliefs are likely to be maintained by self-fulfilling prophecies.