ResQPump

From Neatorama:

After one man went into cardiac arrest and his family successfully performed CPR on him with a toilet plunger, Advanced Circulator Systems developed the ResQPump. It’s a machine that regulates chest compressions and airflow during the resuscitation process:

According to a study published in The Lancet this winter, the ResQPump, which is used for chest compressions, and the ResQPOD, which prevents too much air from entering the lungs during CPR, could increase certain cardiac-arrest victims’ chances of survival by 50 percent.

The ResQPump works like a toilet plunger, but while decompressing it can draw air back into the lungs. The ResQPOD, cleared by the FDA in 2003, regulates airflow by creating suction in the chest, which draws blood up into the brain.

“Alcohol poisoning keeps ER busy”

From the Sioux City Journal:

“You could literally have permanent brain damage from a single alcohol poisoning episode and never be the same,” said Dr. Travis Brownell, an emergency room physician at Mercy Medical Center – Sioux City, where the E.R. sees an alcohol-related case every day and “just straight alcohol poisoning” every Friday and Saturday night.

Michigan Patient Emits Poisonous Gas

From JEMS:

A Michigan hospital said a patient believed to have ingested rodent poison was found to be emitting potentially harmful gasses and has been isolated.

Lauren Jones, a spokeswoman for St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, said the man has been isolated in his room and is being monitored by Washtenaw County Hazardous Material Team workers, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday.

ER doctor delivers baby in hospital parking lot

From The Signal:

Lt. Col. Timothy Barron knows emergencies can strike at any moment. It is something he’s learned during his time in the military and as the department head of DeWitt Army Community Hospital’s Emergency Room, here.

As a result, he rarely takes breaks. So, it was no surprise to Barron — and a little bit of Murphy’s Law — that an emergency would strike seconds after Barron decided to grab a cup of coffee from the hospital dining facility.

“We look out the window and see a nurse waving her hands (in the driveway loop outside of the ER) next to a car. So, we rush out and find a woman giving birth in the front passenger seat,” Barron said, referring to the events of April 6. “The baby’s head and shoulders were out, so I helped get the torso and legs.”

The exhaustion of emergency physicians, and its toll on patients and family

From Kevin MD:

When I applied for residency, the literature suggested that the burnout associated with practicing EM applies primarily to physicians who weren’t trained in this specialty. But a recent longitudinal study of EM physicians by the American Board of Emergency Physicians shows something different: It reports that one third of EM physicians report burnout. Other studies suggest an increased incidence of breast cancer, obesity and other comorbidities in night shift workers. One survey of EPs over 55 reported several “age related concerns”;  74% found it more difficult  to recover from night shifts, 44% reported a higher level of emotional exhaustion after shifts, 40% were less able to manage high patient volumes, and 36% reported less ability to manage the stress associated with EM practice.

Anecdotal evidence supports these findings. Many of my friends and colleagues who are more than eight years out of residency, claim to be exhausted. One friend has fallen asleep at the wheel, and many complain of bickering at home with spouses and kids because they have no patience after working late evening and night shifts. Some have gained a significant amount of weight and developed hypertension. Others say that days can pass without seeing their children because of the wacky hours. Several have decreased their clinical time significantly or have left clinical medicine completely.

ER Visits Keep Increasing, Survey Finds

From the Hartford Courant:

One of the most frequently mentioned goals of health care reform is reducing expensive emergency room care, but a new survey of emergency room doctors indicates that this will be difficult to achieve.

More than 80 percent of Connecticut doctors responding to a new poll by the American College of Emergency Physicians said that emergency visits are increasing at their hospitals, and more than 95 percent expect increases next year.

These results closely track the national findings of the poll, which was conducted by the American College of Emergency Physicians in March. The group sent an email questionnaire to 20,687 emergency physicians across the country, and 1,768 replied.

“Despite health care reform, the survey concludes that visits to emergency rooms are going to increase across the country, and that having health insurance doesn’t guarantee access to medical care,” said Dr. Darria Long, emergency physician at Yale Department of Emergency Medicine in New Haven.

Kevin MD’s take on Dr. Meisel’s article in TIME

From Kevin MD:

Drs. Pines and Meisel argue against blunt solutions, like the one being proposed in Washington state. Denying ER care to patients can lead to unintended consequences, like the aforementioned societal costs, along with the risk of increased malpractice litigation.

Furthermore, by targeting the ER, such policies also miss the true cause of the problem: a profound lack of primary care access.