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Mental practice, a cognitive rehearsal technique from sports psychology, can enhance skill retention and competency in emergency medicine, particularly for high-acuity, low-frequency procedures.

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Mental Practice: Applying Successful Strategies in Sports to the Practice of Emergency Medicine. Ann Emerg Med. 2024 Aug;84(2):159-166. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2023.12.011. Epub 2024 Jan 18. PMID: 38244027.

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Patients on GLP-1 agonists might be at risk of delayed gastric emptying, which has significant implications for procedural sedation and endotracheal intubation.

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Use of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1-Agonists and Increased Risk of Procedural Sedation and Endotracheal Intubation in the Emergency Department. Ann Emerg Med. 2024 Aug;84(2):226-227. DOI: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2024.03.007. PMID: 39032988.

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A large retrospective registry analysis finds no difference in rates of additional respiratory interventions with preemptive administration of supplemental oxygen during pediatric sedation.

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Preprocedural Oxygenation and Procedural Oxygenation During Pediatric Procedural Sedation: Patterns of Use and Association With Interventions. Ann Emerg Med. Published online June 12, 2024. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2024.04.014.

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Povidone iodine was shown to be noninferior to chlorhexidine gluconate in the preparation of intact pre-operative skin and prevention of surgical site infections (SSIs).

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Povidone Iodine vs Chlorhexidine Gluconate in Alcohol for Preoperative Skin Antisepsis: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2024 Jun 17:e248531. doi: 10.1001/jama.2024.8531. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38884982; PMCID: PMC11184497.

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The first direct comparison of the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment-Alcohol Revised (CIWA-Ar) scale to a slightly modified Richmond Agitation and Sedation Scale (mRASS-AW) in a pre-post quality assurance study found mRASS-AW to not compromise length of stay or safety for the evaluation of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS), while we already know it to be faster and more intuitive.

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Replacing the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment-Alcohol revised with the modified Richmond Agitation and Sedation Scale for alcohol withdrawal to support management of alcohol withdrawal symptoms: potential impact on length of stay and complications. CJEM. 2024;26(6):431-435. doi:10.1007/s43678-024-00710-7

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Unfortunately, topical diclofenac did not demonstrate substantial pain control and provided no added benefit, even when co-administered with oral ibuprofen for specific patients with acute low back pain.

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Topical Diclofenac Versus Oral Ibuprofen Versus Diclofenac + Ibuprofen for Emergency Department Patients With Acute Low Back Pain: A Randomized Study. Ann Emerg Med. 2024 Jun;83(6):542-551. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2024.01.037. Epub 2024 Mar 2. PMID: 38441515

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Ketamine has been shown to be efficacious in managing acute pain conditions in the emergency department (ED), and this study showed equal efficacy between nebulized and intravenous administration of sub-dissociative ketamine (IV-SDK).

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Comparison of Nebulized Ketamine to Intravenous Subdissociative Dose Ketamine for Treating Acute Painful Conditions in the Emergency Department: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind, Double-Dummy Controlled Trial. Ann Emerg Med. 2024 May 1:S0196-0644(24)00171-9. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2024.03.024. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38703175.

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This systematic review and meta-analysis (SRMA) found that current rates of central venous catheter (CVC)-associated complications occurred in about 3% of line placements.

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Complication Rates of Central Venous Catheters: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2024 May 1;184(5):474-482. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.8232. Erratum in: JAMA Intern Med. 2024 May 20;: PMID: 38436976.

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Quality improvement interventions including education, order sets, and detailed checklists led to decreased time to post-intubation sedation (PIS) in a pediatric ED.

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Reducing Time to Postintubation Sedation in a Pediatric Emergency Department. Pediatrics. 2024;153(4):e2023062665. doi:10.1542/peds.2023-062665

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A Bayesian meta-analysis found an 83.2% probability that ketamine lowers mortality compared to etomidate in critically ill patients undergoing intubation.

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Ketamine versus etomidate as an induction agent for tracheal intubation in critically ill adults: a Bayesian meta-analysis. Crit Care. 2024 Feb 17.