John S. Rose

Randomized, controlled clinical trial of point-of-care limited ultrasonography assistance of central venous cannulation: the Third Sonography Outcomes Assessment Program (SOAP-3) Trial.

Context:A 2001 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Evidence Report on patient safety addressed point-of-care limited ultrasonography guidance for central venous cannulation and strongly recommended real-time, dynamic guidance for all central cannulas. However, on the basis of one limited study, the report dismissed static assistance, a “quick look” with ultrasound to confirm vein location before preparing the sterile field, as unhelpful. Objective:The objective of this trial was to compare the overall success rate of central cannula placement with use of dynamic ultrasound (D), static ultrasound (S), and anatomical landmarks (LM). Design and Setting:A concealed, randomized, controlled, clinical trial conducted from September 2003 to February 2004 in a U.S. urban teaching hospital. Patients:Two-hundred one patients undergoing internal jugular vein central venous cannulation. Interventions:Patients were randomly assigned to three groups: 60 to D, 72 to S, and 69 to LM. An iLook25 SonoSite was used for all imaging. Measurements and Main Results:Cannulation success, first-attempt success, and number of attempts were noted. Other measures were vein size and clarity of LM. Results, controlled for pretest difficulty assessment, are stated as odds improvement (95% confidence interval) over LM for D and S. D had an odds 53.5 (6.6–440) times higher for success than LM. S had an odds 3 (1.3–7) times higher for success than LM. The unadjusted success rates were 98%, 82%, and 64% for D, S, and LM. For first-attempt success, D had an odds 5.8 (2.7–13) times higher for first success than LM, and S had an odds 3.4 (1.6–7.2) times higher for first success than LM. The unadjusted first-attempt success rates were 62%, 50%, and 23% for D, S, and LM. Conclusions:Ultrasound assistance was superior to LM techniques. D outperformed S but may require more training and personnel. All central cannula placement should be conducted with ultrasound assistance. The 2001 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Evidence Report dismissing static assistance was incorrect.

Use of ultrasonography in the patient with acute abdominal trauma

The purpose of this study was to assess the use of ultrasonography in patients with acute abdominal trauma. Five hundred prospective patients, who came to the Emergency Department with acute trauma, were evaluated with ultrasonography and included in this study. The ultrasonographic examination focused on detection of free fluid but included evaluation of parenchymal organs for injury. The physical examination was not used in the statistical analysis of the sonographic findings. In comparing ultrasonography to computed tomography, diagnostic peritoneal lavage, or operative findings, we obtained 24 true positive, 79 true negative, four false positive, and 14 false negative results. Sensitivity of ultrasonography in detecting free fluid in comparison to computed tomography, diagnostic peritoneal lavage, and surgery was 63%, specificity was 95%, accuracy was 85%, positive predictive value was 86%, and negative predictive value was 85%. The most common reason for false negative sonographic results was identification of free fluid in the pelvis on computed tomograms but not on ultrasonograms owing to lack of a full bladder. In none of these instances were the sonographic false negative results of clinical significance. Ultrasonography allowed detection of solid organ injury of the liver in one of seven cases, of the kidney in one of four cases, and in the bowel in zero of three cases. In the three instances of bowel injury, free fluid was noted on ultrasonograms. Ultrasonography fared better in cases of splenic laceration, permitting detection in nine of 14 cases. The emergent ultrasonogram may be used to detect free fluid in the abdomen of the acutely traumatized patient. However, sonography is limited in detecting free fluid in the pelvis using the present technique and does not allow visualization of organ injury. Limitations of this examination should be recognized for appropriate triage of the acutely traumatized patient.

Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Intravenous Ketamine in Acute Asthma

STUDY OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of IV ketamine in the management of acute, severe asthma. METHODS This prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial at an urban teaching hospital emergency department involved 53 consecutive patients aged 18 to 65 with a clinical diagnosis of acute asthmatic exacerbation and a peak expiratory flow of less than 40% of the predicted value after three albuterol nebulizer treatments. All patients received oxygen, continuous nebulized albuterol, and methylprednisolone sodium succinate (Solu-Medrol). Patients then received either ketamine hydrochloride in a bolus of .2 mg/kg followed by IV infusion of .5 mg/kg per hour for 3 hours or a placebo bolus and infusion for 3 hours. Because of the occurrence of dysphoric reactions, the bolus dose was lowered to .1 mg/kg after the first 9 patients; the infusion dose was kept the same. RESULTS The first nine patients were eliminated from analysis. Repeated ANOVA testing on the remaining 44 patients determined significant improvements over time within each treatment group in peak flow (F=3.637, P=.004). Borg score (F=22.959, P=.001), respiratory rate (F=8.11, P=.0001). and 1-second forced expiratory volume (F=9.076, P=.001). However, no difference could be detected over time between treatment groups (power, 80%). Patients receiving ketamine gave the treatment a rating of 4.3 on a scale of 1 to 5, whereas those receiving placebo scored their treatment 3.7 (P=.0285). The hospital admission rate was not different between treatment groups (P=.1088). CONCLUSION IV ketamine at a dose low enough to avoid dysphoric reactions demonstrated no increased bronchodilatory effect compared with standard therapy in treating exacerbations of asthma in the ED. Although there was a slight increase in satisfaction in the ketamine group, no clinical benefit in terms of hospital admission rate was noted.

Real-time ultrasound guided internal jugular vein catheterization in the emergency department

Establishing central intravenous access in the emergency department (ED) is often both crucial and difficult. In patients with nonexistant or ambiguous external anatomic landmarks, a real-time ultrasound guided approach to internal jugular vein cannulation is useful. In addition, the use of ultrasound guidance in internal jugular vein cannulation is supported by reports that have documented reductions in number of cannulation attempts, time required to establish central access, and rate of complications. The use of ultrasound for establishing central venous access has never been described in an ED setting. Two such cases in which ultrasound was extremely helpful for establishing central access in an ED are reported, the techniques employed for real-time ultrasound guidance of internal jugular vein catheterization are described, and the literature that supports the use of this technique is reviewed.

A randomized controlled trial comparing one-operator versus two-operator technique in ultrasound-guided basilic vein cannulation.

The basilic vein offers an alternative site for peripheral intravenous access for emergency access. The use of a two-operator ultrasound-guided basilic vein cannulation technique has been shown to be a safe and effective technique for use on Emergency Department patients. However, the one-operator technique is more customary by other services. We sought to compare the more customary one-person technique to the two-person technique in basilic vein cannulation in novice operators. This was a prospective, randomized controlled trial of two techniques of ultrasound-guided basilic vein cannulation (one-operator vs. two-operators) in healthy adult volunteers. Each volunteer underwent each technique, one technique on each arm. We selected the initial arm and technique using computer-generated block randomization. In the one-operator technique, a single operator held the transducer in transverse short-axis plane while attempting cannulation using a 20-gauge, 1.88-inch catheter. In the two-operator technique, a second operator held the transducer in place while the first operator attempted cannulation. The primary outcome variable was first-attempt cannulation success. Secondary outcome variables were overall success, number of attempts, time-to-cannulation, complications, and ease-of-technique rated by the operators. There were 32 subjects enrolled. One-operator first-attempt success was 18/32 (56%); two-operator was 21/32 (65%), with a mean difference in proportion of -9% (95% confidence interval [CI] -33-14%). Overall success for one operator was 23/32 (72%) and two-operator was 24/32 (75%), with mean difference in proportion of -3% (95% CI -24-18). The median number of attempts for one-operator was 1.6 (interquartile range [IQR] 1-5) and two-operator was 1.4 (IQR 1-5) (p=0.8). Time to cannulation for one-operator was 57 s (+/-62) and two-operator was 44 s (+/-37) (p=0.33). The median score for ease-of-technique for one-operator was 4.3 (IQR 1-6) and for two-operator was 3.6 (IQR 1-6) (p=0.26). There were no complications with either technique (95% CI 0-10%). Novice operators can reliably perform a basilic vein cannulation using ultrasound guidance. However, we were unable to demonstrate any advantage for any particular technique in cannulating the basilic vein.

Cocaethylene: A current understanding of the active metabolite of cocaine and ethanol

Cocaine and ethanol abuse remains a major problem in our society. The active metabolite of the co-ingestion of cocaine and ethanol, cocaethylene, has been reported recently. This active and potentially toxic metabolite has enormous implications for emergency physicians. This article is a brief review of the current understanding of cocaethylene and its role as a serious toxin in the practice of emergency medicine.

Carbon monoxide exposure from cooking in snow caves at high altitude.

OBJECTIVE To determine the physiological consequences of acute CO exposure from cooking in snow caves at 3,200 m. We hypothesized that ambient CO and serum carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels would increase and that even low levels of COHb would be associated with symptoms of CO poisoning at high altitude. METHOD This was a prospective observational study. Twenty-two healthy volunteers age 18 years or older were recruited during a winter camping trip at 3,200 m. Subjects filled out symptom questionnaires, and heart rate (HR), oxygen saturation (SaO2), serum COHb, and ambient CO were all measured before and after cooking inside snow caves. RESULTS Median age of subjects was 32 years, and 87% were male. The median ambient CO level increased by 17 ppm (IQR, 2-27 ppm), P = .005. Mean serum COHb level rose from 0.3% (IQR, 0.2%-0.4%) to 1.2% (IQR, 0.7%-2.6%) after cooking, for a difference of 1% (IQR, 0.4%-2.3%), P < .001. There were no differences in symptom scores before and after cooking, and there was no significant effect on HR or SaO2. CONCLUSION A single exposure to CO at 3,200 m increases ambient CO and COHb but not to clinically important levels. Further studies are needed to examine the risks of longer exposures at higher altitudes.

Effect of Abdominal Ultrasound on Clinical Care, Outcomes, and Resource Use Among Children With Blunt Torso Trauma: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance The utility of the focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) examination in children is unknown. Objective To determine if the FAST examination during initial evaluation of injured children improves clinical care. Design, Setting, and Participants A randomized clinical trial (April 2012-May 2015) that involved 975 hemodynamically stable children and adolescents younger than 18 years treated for blunt torso trauma at the University of California, Davis Medical Center, a level I trauma center. Interventions Patients were randomly assigned to a standard trauma evaluation with the FAST examination by the treating ED physician or a standard trauma evaluation alone. Main Outcomes and Measures Coprimary outcomes were rate of abdominal computed tomographic (CT) scans in the ED, missed intra-abdominal injuries, ED length of stay, and hospital charges. Results Among the 925 patients who were randomized (mean [SD] age, 9.7 [5.3] years; 575 males [62%]), all completed the study. A total of 50 patients (5.4%, 95% CI, 4.0% to 7.1%) were diagnosed with intra-abdominal injuries, including 40 (80%; 95% CI, 66% to 90%) who had intraperitoneal fluid found on an abdominal CT scan, and 9 patients (0.97%; 95% CI, 0.44% to 1.8%) underwent laparotomy. The proportion of patients with abdominal CT scans was 241 of 460 (52.4%) in the FAST group and 254 of 465 (54.6%) in the standard care–only group (difference, −2.2%; 95% CI, −8.7% to 4.2%). One case of missed intra-abdominal injury occurred in a patient in the FAST group and none in the control group (difference, 0.2%; 95% CI, −0.6% to 1.2%). The mean ED length of stay was 6.03 hours in the FAST group and 6.07 hours in the standard care–only group (difference, −0.04 hours; 95% CI, −0.47 to 0.40 hours). Median hospital charges were

Prognosis for Emergency Physician with Substance Abuse Recovery: 5-year Outcome Study

46 415 in the FAST group and

Creation of a High-fidelity, Low-cost Pediatric Skull Fracture Ultrasound Phantom

47 759 in the standard care–only group (difference, −