(WHO) issued a global alert describing cases of atypical pneumonia of unknown cause appearing in Hong Kong, China, and Vietnam. 1 As of April 28, 2003, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has been described in 28 countries involving 5050 individuals Early Release: This article as posted online at http:// www.jama.com on May 6, 2003. Author Affiliations are listed at the end of this article.

Objectives: Web-based learning has several potential advantages over lectures, such as anytime-anywhere access, rich multimedia, and nonlinear navigation. While known to be an effective method for learning facts, few studies have examined the effectiveness of Web-based formats for learning procedural skills. The authors sought to determine whether a Web-based tutorial is at least as effective as a didactic lecture for learning ultrasound-guided vascular access (UGVA).Methods: Participating staff emergency physicians (EPs) and junior emergency medicine (EM) residents with no UGVA experience completed a precourse test and were randomized to either a Web-based or a didactic group. The Web-based group was instructed to use an online tutorial and the didactic group attended a lecture. Participants then practiced on simulators and live models without any further instruction. Following a rest period, participants completed a four-station objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), a written examination, and a postcourse questionnaire. Examination results were compared using a noninferiority data analysis with a 10% margin of difference.Results: Twenty-one residents and EPs participated in the study. There were no significant differences in mean OSCE scores (absolute difference = )2.8%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = )9.3% to 3.8%) or written test scores (absolute difference = )1.4%; 95% CI = )7.8% to 5.0%) between the Web group and the didactic group. Both groups demonstrated similar improvements in written test scores (26.1% vs. 25.8%; p = 0.95). Ninety-one percent (10 ⁄ 11) of the Web group and 80% (8 ⁄ 10) of the didactic group participants found the teaching format to be effective (p = 0.59).Conclusions: Our Web-based tutorial was at least as effective as a traditional didactic lecture for teaching the knowledge and skills essential for UGVA. Participants expressed high satisfaction with this teaching technology. Web-based teaching may be a useful alternative to didactic teaching for learning procedural skills.ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2008; 15:949-954 ª

Background and Purpose— Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator for ischemic stroke is approved for eligible patients who can be treated within a 3-hour window, but treatment rates remain disappointingly low, often <5%. To improve rapid access to stroke thrombolysis in Toronto, Canada, a citywide prehospital acute stroke activation protocol was implemented by the provincial government to transport acute stroke patients directly to one of 3 regional stroke centers, bypassing local hospitals. This comprised a paramedic screening tool, ambulance destination decision rule, and formal memorandum of understanding of system stakeholders. This report describes the initial impact of the activation protocol at our regional stroke center. Methods— We compared consecutive patients with stroke arriving to our stroke center during the first 4 months of this new triage protocol (February 14 to June 14, 2005) versus the same 4-month period in 2004. Results— The protocol resulted in an immediate doubling in the number of patients with acute stroke arriving to our regional stroke center within 2.5 hours of symptom onset. We observed a 4-fold increase in patients who were eligible for and treated with tissue plasminogen activator. The tissue plasminogen activator treatment rate for ischemic stroke patients increased from 9.5% to 23.4% ( P =0.01), and one in 2 patients with ischemic stroke arriving within 2.5 hours received thrombolysis during this period (one in 5 of patients with ischemic stroke overall). The median onset-to-needle time for tissue plasminogen activator-treated patients was significantly reduced. Many implementation challenges were identified and addressed. Conclusions— This prehospital triage was immediately successful in improving tissue plasminogen activator access for patients with ischemic stroke, enabling our center to achieve one of the highest tissue plasminogen activator treatment rates in North America and underscoring the need for coordinated systems of acute stroke care. Sustainability of such an initiative will be dependent on interdisciplinary teamwork, ongoing paramedic training, adequate hospital staffing, bed availability, and repatriation agreements with community hospitals.

In this preliminary study, the Ontario Prehospital Stroke Screening Tool had a high PPV for acute stroke and appeared to be effective for identifying patients who required triage to a single regional stroke center. Following implementation of a citywide acute stroke protocol using this screening tool, we observed an increase in the number of patients who were eligible for and received fibrinolysis at our stroke center.

Objectives: Long bone fractures (LBFs) are among the most frequent traumatic injuries seen in emergency departments. Reduction and immobilization is the most common form of treatment for displaced fractures. Point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) is a promising technique for diagnosing LBFs and assessing the success of reduction attempts. This article offers a comprehensive review of the use of PoCUS for the diagnosis and reduction of LBFs. Data source: MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched through July 19, 2015. Study selection: We included prospective studies that assessed test characteristics of PoCUS in 1) the diagnosis or 2) the reduction of LBFs. The methodological quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) tool. Data extraction: Thirty studies met inclusion criteria (n = 3,506; overall fracture rate 48.0%). Test characteristics of PoCUS for the diagnosis of LBFs were as follows: sensitivity 64.7%-100%, specificity 79.2%-100%, positive likelihood ratio (LR) 3.11-infinity, and negative LR zero-0.45. Sensitivity and specificity for the adequate reduction of LBFs with PoCUS were 94%-100% and 56%-100%, respectively. PoCUS diagnosis of pediatric forearm fractures in 10 studies showed a pooled sensitivity of 93.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 87.2%-96.4%) and specificity of 92.9% (95% CI, 86.6%-96.4%), and PoCUS diagnosis of adult ankle fractures in four studies showed a pooled sensitivity of 89.5% (95% CI, 77.0%-95.6%) and specificity of 94.2% (95% CI, 86.1%-97.7%). Conclusion: PoCUS demonstrates good diagnostic accuracy in all LBFs studied, especially in pooled results of diagnosis of pediatric forearm and adult ankle fractures. PoCUS is an appropriate adjunct to plain radiographs for LBFs. RÉSUMÉObjectifs: Les fractures des os longs (FOL) figurent parmi les blessures traumatiques les plus fréquentes au service des urgences, et les traitements les plus courants des fractures avec déplacement consistent en la réduction et l'immobilisation du membre touché. L'échographie au point de service (EPS) est une technique prometteuse dans le diagnostic des FOL et dans l'évaluation de la réussite des tentatives de réduction. Aussi les auteurs ont-ils procédé à un examen exhaustif de la documentation médicale sur l'utilisation de l'EPS dans le diagnostic et la réduction des FOL, et ils font état des résultats dans le présent article. Source de données: Des recherches ont été effectuées dans les bases de données MEDLINE et EMBASE jusqu'au 19 juillet 2015 inclusivement. Sélection des etudes: Ont été retenues des études prospectives visant à évaluer les caractéristiques de fonctionnement de l'EPS au regard 1) du diagnostic ou 2) de la réduction des FOL. La qualité méthodologique des études sélectionnées a été évaluée l'aide de l'outil Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2). Extraction des données: Trente études respectaient les critères de sélection (n = 3506; taux général de fracture : 48,0 %). Les caractéristiques de fo...

BackgroundUnrecognized esophageal intubations are associated with significant patient morbidity and mortality. No single confirmatory device has been shown to be 100 % accurate at ruling out esophageal intubations in the emergency department. Recent studies have demonstrated that point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) may be a useful adjunct for confirming endotracheal tube placement; however, the amount of practice required to become proficient at this technique is unclear. The purpose of this study is to determine the amount of practice required by emergency physicians to become proficient at interpreting ultrasound video clips of esophageal and endotracheal intubations.MethodsEmergency physicians and emergency medicine residents completed a baseline interpretation test followed by a 10 min online tutorial. They then interpreted POCUS clips of esophageal and endotracheal intubations in a randomly selected order. If an incorrect response was provided, the participant completed another practice session with feedback. This process continued until they correctly interpreted ten consecutive ultrasound clips. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data.ResultsOf the 87 eligible physicians, 66 (75.9 %) completed the study. The mean score on the baseline test was 42.9 % (SD 32.7 %). After the tutorial, 90.9 % (60/66) of the participants achieved proficiency after one practice attempt and 100 % achieved proficiency after two practice attempts. Six intubation ultrasound clips were misinterpreted, for a total error rate of 0.9 % (6/684). Overall, the participants had a sensitivity of 98.3 % (95 % CI 96.3–99.4 %) and specificity of 100 % (95 % CI 98.9–100 %) for detecting correct tube location. Scans were interpreted within an average of 4 s (SD 2.9 s) of the intubation.ConclusionsAfter a brief online tutorial and only two practice attempts, emergency physicians were able to quickly and accurately interpret ultrasound intubation clips of esophageal and endotracheal intubations.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13089-015-0031-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Patients with lateral medullary syndrome classically present with crossed hemisensory disturbance, ipsilateral Horner syndrome, and cerebellar signs, all of which are attributable to infarction of the lateral medulla. However, variability in the presentation of this syndrome is the rule, as illustrated in this case presentation and literature review. We propose an approach to diagnosis and management of the lateral medullary syndrome and illustrate the need to integrate clinical information with an understanding of brainstem anatomy with the goal of determining which patients require urgent neuroimaging and acute stroke therapies. The importance of recognition of this condition in the emergency department is underscored by the association between lateral medullary infarction and vertebral artery dissection. With optimal therapy, the prognosis for recovery from lateral medullary syndrome is good. RÉ SUMÉLes patients qui souffrent du syndrome bulbaire laté ral pré sentent gé né ralement des troubles hé misensoriels croisé s, un syndrome de Claude Bernard-Horner homolaté ral et des signes cé ré belleux, manifestations qui ré sultent toutes d'un infarctus du bulbe laté ral. Toutefois, le tableau clinique habituel du syndrome est variable, comme en té moignent un exposé de cas et l'examen de la documentation. Nous ferons donc é tat de l'approche diagnostique et de la prise en charge du syndrome bulbaire laté ral, et soulignerons la né cessité de rassembler tous les renseignements d'ordre clinique et de les mettre en relation avec l'anatomie du tronc cé ré bral afin de distinguer les patients devant subir d'urgence des examens en neuro-imagerie et des traitements pour un accident vasculaire cé ré bral. L'association entre l'infarctus du bulbe laté ral et la dissection de l'artè re verté brale fait ressortir l'importance de reconnaître cette premiè re affection au service des urgences. Moyennant le meilleur traitement possible, le syndrome bulbaire laté ral porte un pronostic favorable quant au ré tablissement.

ObjectivesThe primary objective of this systematic review was to determine the accuracy of point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) in diagnosing abscess in emergency department (ED) patients with skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI). The secondary objective was the accuracy of POCUS in the paediatric population subgroup.SettingProspective studies set in emergency departments.ParticipantsEmergency department patients (adult and paediatric) presenting with SSTI and suspected abscess.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThis systematic review was conducted according to Cochrane Handbook guidelines, and the following databases were searched: PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane database of systematic reviews (1946–2015). We included prospective cohort and case–control studies investigating ED patients with SSTI and abscess or cellulitis, a defined POCUS protocol, a clearly defined gold standard for abscess and a contingency table describing sensitivity and specificity. Two reviewers independently ascertained all potentially relevant citations for methodologic quality according to QUADAS-2 criteria. The primary outcome measure was the sensitivity and specificity of POCUS for abscess. A preplanned subgroup (secondary) analysis examined the effects in paediatric populations, and changes in management were explored post hoc.ResultsOf 3028 articles, 8 were identified meeting inclusion criteria; all were rated as good to excellent according to QUADAS-2 criteria. Combined test characteristics of POCUS on the ED diagnosis of abscess for patients with SSTI were as follows: sensitivity 96.2% (95% CI 91.1% to 98.4%), specificity 82.9% (95% CI 60.4% to 93.9%), positive likelihood ratio 5.63 (95% CI 2.2 to 14.6) and negative likelihood ratio 0.05 (95% CI 0.01 to 0.11).ConclusionsA total of 8 studies of good-to-excellent quality were included in this review. The use of POCUS helps differentiate abscess from cellulitis in ED patients with SSTI.Trial registration numberCRD42015017115.