A.G. Wilson

A prospective study to identify high-yield criteria associated with acute intracranial computed tomography findings in head-injured patients

We conducted a multicenter, prospective study of head-injured patients to identify high-yield clinical criteria for acute intracranial injuries. Emergency patients with a history of blunt head trauma occurring within 2 weeks and who underwent nonenhanced cranial computed tomography (CT) were entered onto the study during a 12-month period. Of the 264 patients, 32 (12%) had abnormal CT findings. Nine high-yield variables were associated with abnormal CT findings: alcohol use before injury, antegrade amnesia, prolonged loss of consciousness, anisocoria and/or fixed and dilated pupils, abnormal Babinski reflex, focal motor paralysis, cranial nerve deficit, Glasgow coma scale score of less than 15, and clinical signs of basilar skull fracture. Patients 2 years old or younger or older than 60 years of age showed a significantly greater prevalence of abnormal CT findings than patients of other ages.

Effect of a Patient's Sex on the Timing of Thrombolytic Therapy

STUDY OBJECTIVE We sought to determine whether a patients sex independently influences the interval from emergency department arrival to the initiation of thrombolytic therapy in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study in two suburban EDs, one at a 929-bed tertiary care teaching hospital and the other at a 189-bed community hospital. Only patients found to be having an ST-segment-elevated AMI on their first ECG who were treated with a thrombolytic agent in the ED were eligible. We excluded patients who arrived at the ED after cardiac arrest or with a known AMI. We used as the main outcome measure the interval from ED arrival to initiation of thrombolytic therapy. Secondary outcome variables included time elapsed before ECG, interval between ECG and treatment, and 1-year mortality. RESULTS Entry criteria were satisfied by 328 patients. The 88 women experienced a mean 23-minute delay to treatment initiation compared with men (P < .01). This observation is not accounted for by age, race, time of day, medical history, sex of the physician, type of thrombolytic agent, hospital, or triage category. The longest delays were found in women treated by female physicians, although female physicians also waited longer than male physicians to administer thrombolytic therapy to men. The mean time elapsed before the first ECG was also 6 minutes longer for women (P < .01) Women had an increased 1-year mortality rate that was fully explained by their advanced age at the time of AMI. CONCLUSION We infer that a patients sex may play a significant role in the observed delay in treatment for women. Our data, coupled with previously published work, strongly suggest a systematic negative effect for women in their interaction with the health care system during AMI. We suggest that variables other than systems issues affect the time elapsed before thrombolytic therapy.