View clinical trials related to Emergencies.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy, safety and acceptability of pre-treatment with mifepristone and misoprostol compared to misoprostol alone in the medical termination of pregnancy by mifepristone EC failure.
The purpose of this study is to test data collection options in emergency departments (EDs) and to enhance ED patient awareness of the risk of HIV infection.
Lacerations (deep cuts) are a frequent cause of visits to emergency departments and laceration repair is one of the most common procedures performed in that setting. Children are often anxious when they visit the emergency department, and visits where they anticipate needing painful procedures can be particularly stressful. Though we can manage the pain associated with many minor procedures, we are frequently unable to adequately support the child and treat their problem if we don't manage their anxiety as well. Methods of calming that do not require medication (e.g. distraction, parental support) can help, but many patients still require sedative medications. The goal of sedation in the pediatric emergency department is to relieve the child's anxiety while minimizing the risk of adverse events. Unfortunately, when sedative medications are used in doses that do not slow breathing, they often fail to manage the child's anxiety adequately. In addition, many sedative agents require the placement of an intravenous line, which is itself a painful procedure that can create, rather than relieve, anxiety. Currently, there is no ideal sedative agent that is safe, effective, and easy to administer. Oral midazolam is one of the most commonly used sedative medications for laceration repair in children. In a dose of 0.5mg/kg it has been shown to be safe. Unfortunately, it provides adequate sedation in only about two thirds of patients and has a delayed onset of up to 20 minutes. The remaining children must either endure the procedure in an agitated state or suffer placement of an intravenous line to administer additional sedative medications. We aim to find a method of providing sedation for laceration repair that has a higher success rate than oral midazolam as currently prescribed without increasing the risk of complications. We would like to evaluate new methods for administering midazolam using alternate routes and dosages. Previous studies have looked at the use of midazolam absorbed directly by mucous membranes such as inside the nose (intranasal) and inside the mouth (buccal). The use of intranasal midazolam has had some success especially given its rapid onset of action (about 5 minutes), but has been limited by the irritant effects of the drug. When placed in the mouth, many children swallow the drug or spit it out rather than allowing it to be absorbed by the mucous membrane. There has been some improved success when the drug was placed under the tongue, but this is typically difficult for young children. However, a new device called an "atomizer" has been developed that allows for improved intranasal and buccal administration. The "atomizer" has a small adapter placed on the end of a syringe, which spreads the medication out in a fine mist over a wide area. It can be sprayed in the mouth inside the cheek (buccal), avoiding the need to keep the medication under the tongue. While some pediatric institutions have already started giving midazolam with the atomizer, and are reporting anecdotal success with these methods, its safety and effectiveness have not been rigorously studied. We propose to compare three approaches to sedation: commonly used doses of oral midazolam, atomized intranasal midazolam and atomized intraoral midazolam. Children under the age of 7 requiring sedation for wound repair will be eligible for enrollment. After informed consent, children will be randomized to one of the three methods described above. Their level of sedation will be determined using two scores validated for use in children (the sedation score and the modified CHEOPS score). Physician, nurse and parent impressions of sedation will also be compared. By comparing our current approach to these new methods, we will be able to determine which method is best. If we can identify a method for administering the sedative drug midazolam that is safe, well tolerated, and more effective, we will have made a valuable and important contribution to the care of injured children in the emergency department.
To determine the correlation between the region of abdominal tenderness determined by the examining physician and the location of acute pathology diagnosed on abdominal CT. We hypothesize that the acute pathology diagnosed by CT will lie within the region marked on the abdominal wall by the examining physician prior to CT.
The purpose of this study is to see if women presenting for emergency contraception (EC) are willing to accept the copper intrauterine device (IUD). This study will also compare the use of effective methods of contraception between women who selected the copper IUD or Plan B 6 months after they received EC.
The purpose of this study is to compare the rate of non-urgent emergency department use between three groups of patients: those who were referred to the emergency department by Telehealth Ontario; those who were referred by a physician; and those who arrived without being advised by a nurse or a doctor.
Objective: The ultimate goal of this project is to enhance the capacity of non-mental health clinicians working in an Emergency Departments (ED) to recognize and initiate further evaluation of children and adolescents at risk for suicide. Aim 1: To re-validate the Risk of Suicide Questionnaire (RSQ), a screening tool that assists non-psychiatric clinicians in rapidly detecting suicide risk in pediatric patients, in a pediatric ED mental health population in the Children s National Medical Center (CNMC) ED. Aim 2: To determine the utility of a suicide screening tool, a revised version of the Risk of Suicide Questionnaire, to detect suicide risk in pediatric patients presenting to the CNMC ED for non-mental health reasons. Study population: The study population includes all patients admitted to the CNMC Emergency Department, ages 10 to 21, during the data collection weeks of the study period. Both patients admitted for mental health and non-mental health reasons will be included in the study. Design: This will be a prospective instrument development /validation study. During a designated study week, all mental health patients and a random subset of non-mental health patients admitted to the CNMC ED will be approached after their triage assessment. Following informed consent and assent, a 17-item suicide assessment tool created for this research project (RSQ-Revised), as well as a brief background questionnaire will be administered. These questions will be validated against a gold standard suicide assessment questionnaire, which will be administered to the subjects directly after the RSQ-Revised. The study aims to develop a brief suicide screening tool to be used at triage for all patients entering the ED. Measures Measures include the proposed 17-item screening questionnaire and a gold standard assessment of suicidal ideation in adolescents, the Suicide Ideation Questionnaire (SIQ).
The purpose of this study is to determine if soft tissue infections in pediatric patients can be more accurately diagnosed (i.e. the presence of a drainable abscess) with the addition of bedside ultrasound to the clinical examination compared to the clinical examination alone.
This study will examine two questions: 1. Whether insulin treatment of high blood sugar in patients with diabetes while they are in the emergency room will improve how quickly they recover from illness if they need to be hospitalized. 2. Whether immediately beginning long lasting insulin detemir in patients with diabetes when they are admitted to hospital from the emergency room will improve how quickly they recover from the illness which necessitated hospitalization.
To determine whether adding nebulized inhaled steroids to the standard care of acutely ill ED patients with refractory acute asthma helps improve forced expiratory volume at one second (FEV1) and decrease the need for hospitalization.