Academic Emergency Medicine 

About: Academic Emergency Medicine is an academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Emergency department & Poison control. It has an ISSN identifier of 1069-6563. Over the lifetime, 7816 publications have been published receiving 209198 citations. The journal is also known as: AEM.

Reliability of the visual analog scale for measurement of acute pain.

Abstract: Objective: Reliable and valid measures of pain are needed to advance research initiatives on appropriate and effective use of analgesia in the emergency department (ED). The reliability of visual analog scale (VAS) scores has not been demonstrated in the acute setting where pain fluctuation might be greater than for chronic pain. The objective of the study was to assess the reliability of the VAS for measurement of acute pain. Methods: This was a prospective convenience sample of adults with acute pain presenting to two EDs. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) and a Bland-Altman analysis were used to assess reliability of paired VAS measurements obtained 1 minute apart every 30 minutes over two hours. Results: The summary ICC for all paired VAS scores was 0.97 [95% CI = 0.96 to 0.98]. The Bland-Altman analysis showed that 50% of the paired measurements were within 2 mm of one another, 90% were within 9 mm, and 95% were within 16 mm. The paired measurements were more reproducible at the extremes of pain intensity than at moderate levels of pain. Conclusions: Reliability of the VAS for acute pain measurement as assessed by the ICC appears to be high. Ninety percent of the pain ratings were reproducible within 9 mm. These data suggest that the VAS is sufficiently reliable to be used to assess acute pain.

Deliberate practice and acquisition of expert performance: a general overview.

Abstract: Traditionally, professional expertise has been judged by length of experience, reputation, and perceived mastery of knowledge and skill. Unfortunately, recent research demonstrates only a weak relationship between these indicators of expertise and actual, observed performance. In fact, observed performance does not necessarily correlate with greater professional experience. Expert performance can, however, be traced to active engagement in deliberate practice (DP), where training (often designed and arranged by their teachers and coaches) is focused on improving particular tasks. DP also involves the provision of immediate feedback, time for problem-solving and evaluation, and opportunities for repeated performance to refine behavior. In this article, we draw upon the principles of DP established in other domains, such as chess, music, typing, and sports to provide insight into developing expert performance in medicine.

The effect of emergency department crowding on clinically oriented outcomes

Abstract: Background: An Institute of Medicine (IOM) report defines six domains of quality of care: safety, patient-centeredness, timeliness, efficiency, effectiveness, and equity. The effect of emergency department (ED) crowding on these domains of quality has not been comprehensively evaluated. Objectives: The objective was to review the medical literature addressing the effects of ED crowding on clinically oriented outcomes (COOs). Methods: We reviewed the English-language literature for the years 1989–2007 for case series, cohort studies, and clinical trials addressing crowding’s effects on COOs. Keywords searched included “ED crowding,”“ED overcrowding,”“mortality,”“time to treatment,”“patient satisfaction,”“quality of care,” and others. Results: A total of 369 articles were identified, of which 41 were kept for inclusion. Study quality was modest; most articles reflected observational work performed at a single institution. There were no randomized controlled trials. ED crowding is associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality, longer times to treatment for patients with pneumonia or acute pain, and a higher probability of leaving the ED against medical advice or without being seen. Crowding is not associated with delays in reperfusion for patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Insufficient data were available to draw conclusions on crowding’s effects on patient satisfaction and other quality endpoints. Conclusions: A growing body of data suggests that ED crowding is associated both with objective clinical endpoints, such as mortality, as well as clinically important processes of care, such as time to treatment for patients with time-sensitive conditions such as pneumonia. At least two domains of quality of care, safety and timeliness, are compromised by ED crowding.

Validation of a Verbally Administered Numerical Rating Scale of Acute Pain for Use in the Emergency Department

Abstract: Objectives: Verbally administered numerical rating scales (NRSs) from 0 to 10 are often used to measure pain, but they have not been validated in the emergency department (ED) setting. The authors wished to assess the comparability of the NRS and visual analog scale (VAS) as measures of acute pain, and to identify the minimum clinically significant difference in pain that could be detected on the NRS. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of a convenience sample of adults presenting with acute pain to an urban ED. Patients verbally rated pain intensity as an integer from 0 to 10 (0 = no pain, 10 = worst possible pain), and marked a 10-cm horizontal VAS bounded by these descriptors. VAS and NRS data were obtained at presentation, 30 minutes later, and 60 minutes later. At 30 and 60 minutes, patients were asked whether their pain was “much less,”“a little less,”“about the same,”“a little more,” or “much more.” Differences between consecutive pairs of measurements on the VAS and NRS obtained at 30-minute intervals were calculated for each of the five categories of pain descriptor. The association between VAS and NRS scores was expressed as a correlation coefficient. The VAS scores were regressed on the NRS scores in order to assess the equivalence of the measures. The mean changes associated with descriptors “a little less” or “a little more” were combined to define the minimum clinically significant difference in pain measured on the VAS and NRS. Results: Of 108 patients entered, 103 provided data at 30 minutes and 86 at 60 minutes. NRS scores were strongly correlated to VAS scores at all time periods (r= 0.94, 95% CI = 0.93 to 0.95). The slope of the regression line was 1.01 (95% CI = 0.97 to 1.06) and the y-intercept was −0.34 (95% CI =−0.67 to −0.01). The minimum clinically significant difference in pain was 1.3 (95% CI = 1.0 to 1.5) on the NRS and 1.4 (95% CI = 1.1 to 1.7) on the VAS. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the verbally administered NRS can be substituted for the VAS in acute pain measurement.

Debriefing as formative assessment: closing performance gaps in medical education.

Abstract: The authors present a four-step model of debriefing as formative assessment that blends evidence and theory from education research, the social and cognitive sciences, experience drawn from conducting over 3,000 debriefings, and teaching debriefing to approximately 1,000 clinicians worldwide. The steps are to: 1) note salient performance gaps related to predetermined objectives, 2) provide feedback describing the gap, 3) investigate the basis for the gap by exploring the frames and emotions contributing to the current performance level, and 4) help close the performance gap through discussion or targeted instruction about principles and skills relevant to performance. The authors propose that the model, designed for postsimulation debriefings, can also be applied to bedside teaching in the emergency department (ED) and other clinical settings.