Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2013
Association between emergency department length of stay and outcome of patients admitted either to a ward, intensive care or high dependency unit.
To evaluate the association of ED length of stay (EDLOS) and outcome of patients admitted to a ward, intensive care (ICU) or stepdown (high dependency) unit (SDU). ⋯ EDLOS was greater for ED to ward patients, and of the ED to ward patients who died. At an EDLOS of 4 h there were fewer ICU, in comparison with ward, patients remaining in the ED. Future studies that report on EDLOS should differentiate for patients admitted from the ED to the ward, ICU or SDU.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2013
Factors affecting length of stay for women presenting with early pregnancy complications to a public hospital emergency department.
This study aimed to determine factors associated with length of stay (LOS) for women presenting with early pregnancy complications to a public hospital ED. In particular, we sought to investigate the impact the involvement of the Clinical Midwife Consultant (CMC), specialising in early pregnancy care, had on the ED LOS. ⋯ This study was able to show factors significantly associated with ED LOS, many of which are not modifiable. The involvement of the CMC reduced LOS, whereas requiring an ultrasound assessment increased LOS. Thus, improvement could be achieved by greater access to a CMC and more rapid access to ultrasound services.