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Background Clostridoides difficile (C. diff) can cause diarrhea and inflammation of the colon. It is one of the most common causes of heathcare-associated infections (HAIs), estimated to cause almost half a million illnesses and thousands of deaths in the United States each year. Studies have estimated that this HAI costs up to $4.8 billion each year in excess healthcare costs for acute care facilities. Early identification, treatment and initiation of isolation precautions is crucial to patient care and transmission reduction, making the Emergency Department ideal partners in efforts to reduce C. diff infections. Methods A C. diff testing algorithm was introduced specific to the Emergency Department in March, 2021, promoting earlier testing and isolation of patients suspected of having C. diff. Emergency medicine clinicians were awarded the "Golden Spore" Award weekly when appropriately initiating the C. diff testing and isolation, provided the patients met criteria, or were clinically suspected of having a C. diff infection. C. diff ordering algorithm Ordering algorithms were printed and placed in the clinician's work area to facilitate increased ordering of isolation and testing of potentially infected patients. GoldenSporeAward The Golden Spore is awarded weekly to emergency clinicians who successfully identify and isolate C. diff patients prior to admission. Results As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were varying degrees of challenges for implementation of the program. Emergency clinicians sent 199 C. diff tests pre-intervention (3/15/20-3/14/21) and 234 tests post-intervention (3/15/21-3/14/22). Pre-intervention, 44 patients were found to be C. diff positive prior to admission, compared to 62 post-intervention. Clinicians enjoyed the "golden spore" award and were excited to participate. Conclusion The program is ongoing, though the initial results are encouraging. There was an immediate increase in the testing and subsequent isolation of patients while in the ED. Infection prevention and emergency medicine clinicians worked together to boost their numbers, and the "golden spore" continues to be awarded in weekly newsletters. Clinicians indicated they enjoyed the engagement, and found that the small change in a routine process improved their baseline awareness of potential C. diff patients, leading to an increase in the number of tests and subsequent discovery of C. diff positive patients. C. diff champions were also named and the algorithm will be shared with additional emergency departments within our system to continue to improve detection and prevention of hospital associated infections. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures.

Background Free Open-Access Medical education (FOAM) use among residents continues to rise. However, it often lacks quality assurance processes and residents receive little guidance on quality assessment. The Academic Life in Emergency Medicine Approved Instructional Resources tool (AAT) was created for FOAM appraisal by and for expert educators and has demonstrated validity in this context. It has yet to be evaluated in other populations. Objectives We assessed the AAT's usability in a diverse population of practicing emergency medicine (EM) physicians, residents, and medical students; solicited feedback; and developed a revised tool. Methods As part of the Medical Education Translational Resources: Impact and Quality (METRIQ) study, we recruited medical students, EM residents, and EM attendings to evaluate five FOAM posts with the AAT and provide quantitative and qualitative feedback via an online survey. Two independent analysts performed a qualitative thematic analysis with discrepancies resolved through discussion and negotiated consensus. This analysis informed development of an initial revised AAT, which was then further refined after pilot testing among the author group. The final tool was reassessed for reliability. Results Of 330 recruited international participants, 309 completed all ratings. The Best Evidence in Emergency Medicine (BEEM) score was the component most frequently reported as difficult to use. Several themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: for ease of use-understandable, logically structured, concise, and aligned with educational value. Limitations include deviation from questionnaire best practices, validity concerns, and challenges assessing evidence-based medicine. Themes supporting its use include evaluative utility and usability. The author group pilot tested the initial revised AAT, revealing a total score average measure intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of moderate reliability (ICC = 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0 to 0.962). The final AAT's average measure ICC was 0.88 (95% CI = 0.77 to 0.95). Conclusions We developed the final revised AAT from usability feedback. The new score has significantly increased usability, but will need to be reassessed for reliability in a broad population.

Emergency departments (EDs) are the primary driver for hospital admissions in the United States (US), and that trend is likely to continue through the ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. As the US continues to experience rampant community spread, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will likely present in increasingly variable ways to the EDs. We present a case of Mallory-Weiss tear and esophageal perforation, which was likely caused by COVID-19 pneumonia. This case is notably the first of its kind that we have seen reported in the COVID-19-related literature. Clinicians should be vigilant about the various complications of COVID-19 and continue to exercise caution when seeing and treating these patients.

Study objective Online educational resources such as blogs are increasingly used for education by emergency medicine clinicians. The Social Media Index was developed to quantify their relative impact. The Medical Education Translational Resources: Indicators of Quality (METRIQ) study was conducted in part to determine the association between the Social Media Index score and quality as measured by gestalt and previously derived quality instruments. Methods Ten blogs were randomly selected from a list of emergency medicine and critical care Web sites. The 2 most recent clinically oriented blog posts published on these blogs were evaluated with gestalt, the Academic Life in Emergency Medicine Approved Instructional Resources (ALiEM AIR) score, and the METRIQ-8 score. Volunteer raters (including medical students, emergency medicine residents, and emergency medicine attending physicians) were identified with a multimodal recruitment methodology. The Social Media Index was calculated in February 2016, November 2016, April 2017, and December 2017. Pearson's correlations were calculated between the Social Media Index and the average rater gestalt, ALiEM AIR score, and METRIQ-8 score. Results A total of 309 of 330 raters completed all ratings (93.6%). The Social Media Index correlated moderately to strongly with the mean rater gestalt ratings (range 0.69 to 0.76) and moderately with the mean rater ALiEM AIR score (range 0.55 to 0.61) and METRIQ-8 score (range 0.53 to 0.57) during the month of the blog post's selection and for 2 years after. Conclusion The Social Media Index's correlation with multiple quality evaluation instruments over time supports the hypothesis that it is associated with overall Web site quality. It can play a role in guiding individuals to high-quality resources that can be reviewed with critical appraisal techniques.

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a condition arising from compression of the subclavian vessels and/or brachial plexus as the structures travel from the thoracic outlet to the axilla. Despite the significant pathology associated with TOS, there remains some general disagreement among experts on the specific anatomy, etiology, and pathophysiology of the condition, presumably because of the wide variation in symptoms that manifest in presenting patients, and because of lack of a definitive gold standard for diagnosis. Symptoms associated with TOS have traditionally been divided into vascular and neurogenic categories, a distinction based on the underlying structure(s) implicated. Of the two, neurogenic TOS (nTOS) is more common, and typically presents as compression of the brachial plexus; primarily, but not exclusively, involving its lower trunk. Vascular TOS (vTOS) usually involves compression of the vessel, most commonly the subclavian artery or vein, or is secondary to thrombus formation in the venous vasculature. Any anatomical anomaly in the thoracic outlet has the potential to predispose a patient to TOS. Common anomalies include variations in the insertion of the anterior scalene muscle (ASM) or scalenus minimus muscle, the presence of a cervical rib or of fibrous and muscular bands, variations in insertion of pectoralis minor, and the presence of neurovascular structures, which follow an atypical course. A common diagnostic technique for vTOS is duplex imaging, which has generally replaced more invasive angiographic techniques. In cases of suspected nTOS, electrophysiological nerve studies and ASM blocks provide guidance when screening for patients likely to benefit from surgical decompression of TOS. Surgeons generally agree that the transaxillary approach allows the greatest field of view for first rib excision to relieve compressed vessels. Alternatively, a supraclavicular approach is favored for scalenotomies when the ASM impinges on surrounding structures. A combined supraclavicular and infraclavicular approach is preferred when a larger field of view is required. The future of TOS management must emphasize the improvement of available diagnostic and treatment techniques, and the development of a consensus gold standard for diagnosis. Helical computed tomography offers a three-dimensional view of the thoracic outlet, and may be valuable in the detection of anatomical variations, which may predispose patients to TOS. This review summarizes the history of TOS, the pertinent clinical and anatomical presentations of TOS, and the commonly used diagnostic and treatment techniques for the condition.

Study objective Open educational resources such as blogs are increasingly used for medical education. Gestalt is generally the evaluation method used for these resources; however, little information has been published on it. We aim to evaluate the reliability of gestalt in the assessment of emergency medicine blogs. Methods We identified 60 English-language emergency medicine Web sites that posted clinically oriented blogs between January 1, 2016, and February 24, 2016. Ten Web sites were selected with a random-number generator. Medical students, emergency medicine residents, and emergency medicine attending physicians evaluated the 2 most recent clinical blog posts from each site for quality, using a 7-point Likert scale. The mean gestalt scores of each blog post were compared between groups with Pearson's correlations. Single and average measure intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated within groups. A generalizability study evaluated variance within gestalt and a decision study calculated the number of raters required to reliably (>0.8) estimate quality. Results One hundred twenty-one medical students, 88 residents, and 100 attending physicians (93.6% of enrolled participants) evaluated all 20 blog posts. Single-measure intraclass correlation coefficients within groups were fair to poor (0.36 to 0.40). Average-measure intraclass correlation coefficients were more reliable (0.811 to 0.840). Mean gestalt ratings by attending physicians correlated strongly with those by medical students (r=0.92) and residents (r=0.99). The generalizability coefficient was 0.91 for the complete data set. The decision study found that 42 gestalt ratings were required to reliably evaluate quality (>0.8). Conclusion The mean gestalt quality ratings of blog posts between medical students, residents, and attending physicians correlate strongly, but individual ratings are unreliable. With sufficient raters, mean gestalt ratings provide a community standard for assessment.

Most ill travelers returning from Ebola-affected countries have not had Ebola. However, institutions and public health departments need to be prepared. We present our experience triaging, evaluating and managing 25 ill returned travelers from these countries., Background. The 2014–2015 Ebola epidemic in West Africa had global impact beyond the primarily affected countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Other countries, including the United States, encountered numerous patients who arrived from highly affected countries with fever or other signs or symptoms consistent with Ebola virus disease (EVD). Methods. We describe our experience evaluating 25 travelers who met the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case definition for a person under investigation (PUI) for EVD from July 20, 2014 to January 28, 2015. All patients were triaged and evaluated under the guidance of institutional protocols to the emergency department, outpatient tropical medicine clinic, or Emory's Ebola treatment unit. Strict attention to infection control and early involvement of public health authorities guided the safe evaluation of these patients. Results. None were diagnosed with EVD. Respiratory illnesses were common, and 8 (32%) PUI were confirmed to have influenza. Four patients (16%) were diagnosed with potentially life-threatening infections or conditions, including 3 with Plasmodium falciparum malaria and 1 with diabetic ketoacidosis. Conclusions. In addition to preparing for potential patients with EVD, Ebola assessment centers should consider other life-threatening conditions requiring urgent treatment, and travelers to affected countries should be strongly advised to seek pretravel counseling. Furthermore, attention to infection control in all aspects of PUI evaluation is paramount and has presented unique challenges. Lessons learned from our evaluation of potential patients with EVD can help inform preparations for future outbreaks of highly pathogenic communicable diseases.

A 25-year-old male was brought in by ambulance to the emergency department (ED) after sustaining a gunshot wound to his chin and left shoulder. Upon arrival to the ED, his airway was intact without evidence of blood in the oropharynx. He was found to have slightly diminished breath sounds on the left side, with respirations at 34 breaths per minute, a blood pressure of 72/50mmHg, and a heart rate of 76 beats per minute with cool extremities and poor peripheral pulses. His focused abdominal sonography in trauma exam showed a foreign body within the right ventricle without a pericardial effusion (Figure 1 and Video). An upright portable chest radiograph performed immediately thereafter showed blunting of the left costophrenic angle with a bullet fragment overlying the cardiac shadow (Figure 2). Figure 1 Parasternal long axis view demonstrating a bullet fragment within the right ventricle. Figure 2 Anteroposteior chest x-ray demonstrating bullet fragment overlying the cardiac shadow. Video Parasternal long axis clip demonstrating a bullet fragment within the right ventricle.