SAEM Podcasts

Pediatric appendicitis remains a challenging diagnosis in the emergency department (ED). Available risk prediction algorithms may contribute to excessive ED imaging studies. Incorporation of physician gestalt assessment could help refine predictive tools and improve diagnostic imaging decisions.

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), which regulates residency and fellowship training in the United States, recently revised the minimum standards for all training programs. These standards are codified and published as the Common Program Requirements. Recent specific revisions, particularly removing the requirement ensuring protected time for core faculty, are poised to have a substantial impact on emergency medicine training programs.

The accuracy and speed by which acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is excluded are an important determinant of emergency department (ED) length of stay and resource utilization. While high‐sensitivity troponin I (hsTnI) >99th percentile (upper reference level [URL]) represents a “rule‐in” cutpoint, our purpose was to evaluate the ability of the Beckman Coulter hsTnI assay, using various level‐of‐quantification (LoQ) cutpoints, to rule out AMI within 3 hours of ED presentation in suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients.