Comparison of efficacy and frequency of akathisia and dystonia between olanzapine, metoclopramide and prochlorperazine in ED headache patients.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy and frequency of akathisia and dystonia between the dopamine antagonist headache medications olanzapine, metoclopramide and prochlorperazine. METHODS: This was a retrospective observational cohort study of patients presenting to a large urban level one trauma center between 2010 and 2018. Inclusion criteria was age ≥ 18 who presented to the emergency department with a chief complaint of headache who received either olanzapine, metoclopramide or prochlorperazine. The primary outcome was need for rescue medication. Secondary outcomes were receiving medication for either akathisia or dystonia. Logistic regression was used to identify differences between the three cohorts up to 72 h from initial presentation. RESULTS: There were 5643 patients who met inclusion criteria. Olanzapine was the most commonly used drug (n = 2994, 53%) followed by prochlorperazine (n = 2100, 37%) and metoclopramide (n = 549, 10%). After adjusting for age and gender, there were no differences in risk for receiving rescue therapy or developing akathisia or dystonia. CONCLUSION: During initial ED visit and up to 72 h after receiving olanzapine, metoclopramide or prochlorperazine, we found no difference in risk for requiring rescue medication or developing akathisia or dystonia.

Randomized Trial of Intravenous Lidocaine Versus Hydromorphone for Acute Abdominal Pain in the Emergency Department.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We compare the efficacy and safety of intravenous lidocaine with that of hydromorphone for the treatment of acute abdominal pain in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: This was a randomized, double-blind, clinical trial conducted in 2 EDs in the Bronx, NY. Adults weighing 60 to 120 kg were randomized to receive 120 mg of intravenous lidocaine or 1 mg of intravenous hydromorphone. Thirty minutes after administration of the first dose of the study drug, participants were asked whether they needed a second dose of the investigational medication to which they were randomized. Patients were also stratified according to clinical suspicion of nephrolithiasis. The primary outcome was improvement in pain scores of 0 to 10 between baseline and 90 minutes. An important secondary outcome was need for "off-protocol" parenteral analgesics, including opioids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. RESULTS: We enrolled 154 patients, of whom 77 received lidocaine and 77 received hydromorphone. By 90 minutes, patients randomized to lidocaine improved by a mean of 3.8 points on the 0-to-10 scale, whereas those randomized to hydromorphone improved by a mean of 5.0 points (mean difference 1.2; 95% confidence interval 0.3 to 2.2). Need for off-protocol "rescue" analgesics occurred for 39 of 77 lidocaine patients (51%) and 20 of 77 hydromorphone patients (26%) (difference 25%; 95% confidence interval 10% to 40%). Adverse events were comparable between groups. Among the subset of 22 patients with nephrolithiasis, lidocaine patients reported a mean improvement of 3.4 points on the pain scale, whereas hydromorphone patients reported a mean improvement of 6.4 points (mean difference 3.0; 95% confidence interval 0.5 to 5.5). CONCLUSION: Intravenous hydromorphone was superior to intravenous lidocaine both for general abdominal pain and a subset of patients with nephrolithiasis. A majority of patients randomly allocated to lidocaine required additional analgesics.

Feasibility, utility, and safety of fully incorporating transesophageal echocardiography into emergency medicine practice.

INTRODUCTION: Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is a standard procedure for emergency physicians (EPs). Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is known to have great utility in patients who are critically ill or in cardiac arrest and has been used by some EPs with specialized ultrasound (US) training, but it is generally considered outside the reach of the majority of EPs. We surmised that all of our EPs could learn to perform focused TEE (F-TEE), so we trained and credentialed all of the physicians in our group. METHODS: We trained 52 EPs to perform and interpret F-TEEs using a 4-h simulator-based course. We kept a database of all F-TEE examinations for quality assurance and continuous quality feedback. Data are reported using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Emergency physicians attempted 557 total F-TEE examinations (median = 10, interquartile range = 5-15) during the 42-month period following training. Clinically relevant images were obtained in 99% of patients. EPs without fellowship or other advanced US training performed the majority of F-TEEs (417, 74.9%) and 94.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 91.4%-96.3%) had interpretable images recorded. When TTE and TEE were both performed (n = 410), image quality of TEE was superior in 378 (93.3%, 95% CI = 89.7%-95%). Indications for F-TEE included periarrest states (55.7%), cardiac arrest (32.1%), and shock (12.2%). There was one case of endotracheal tube dislodgement during TEE placement, but this was immediately identified and replaced without complication. CONCLUSION: After initiating a mandatory group F-TEE training and credentialing program, we report the largest series to date of EP-performed resuscitative F-TEE. The majority of F-TEE examinations (75%) were performed by EPs without advanced US training beyond residency.