A multicenter before-and-after cohort study suggests that nurses can clear the spine, saving time, money, and hassles.
Prehospital personnel are rightly compulsive about applying cervical collars, but the collars are uncomfortable for patients and may nudge providers toward unnecessary imaging. The Canadian C-Spine Rule was designed to decrease imaging without missing injuries (NEJM JW Emerg Med Jan 2002 and JAMA 2001; 286:1841), however, in a busy emergency department, patients must often wait a long time before the physician can come and clear the cervical spine.
Now, the original designers of the rule report on a multicenter before-and-after cohort study that assessed triage nurses' ability to implement the rule safely. In the “before” phase, 312 nurses evaluated 3098 patients. After being certified in use of the rule, 180 nurses evaluated 1408 patients. …
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DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education
Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CDC; NIH–National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; NIH–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); NIH–NIAID–Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group; Merck; Pfizer; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Shire; Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Novartis; bioMérieux; Siemens; Rapid Pathogen Screening; Magnolia; Stago; Innovative Biosensors; Molecular Detection, Inc.; Dyax Corp.; Trius Pharmaceuticals
DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education
Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CDC; NIH–National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; NIH–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); NIH–NIAID–Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group; Merck; Pfizer; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Shire; Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Novartis; bioMérieux; Siemens; Rapid Pathogen Screening; Magnolia; Stago; Innovative Biosensors; Molecular Detection, Inc.; Dyax Corp.; Trius Pharmaceuticals