Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2017
Patterns of low acuity patient presentations to emergency departments in New South Wales, Australia.
To explore the patterns of low acuity patient (LAP) presentations to EDs in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. ⋯ The percentage of LAPs varied substantially by definition, and further work is required to validate the methods, particularly around the appropriateness of length of consultation time with ACEM, between different hospitals and remoteness areas. Age was strongly associated with low acuity, with substantial effects also observed for GP density, and attendances during out of hours and weekends.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2017
Randomized Controlled TrialEconomic evaluation of nasogastric versus intravenous hydration in infants with bronchiolitis.
Bronchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory tract infection in infants and the leading cause of hospitalisation. We aimed to assess whether intravenous hydration (IVH) was more cost-effective than nasogastric hydration (NGH) as a planned secondary economic analysis of a randomised trial involving 759 infants (aged 2-12 months) admitted to hospital with a clinical diagnosis of bronchiolitis and requiring non-oral hydration. No Australian cost data exist to aid clinicians in decision-making around interventions in bronchiolitis. ⋯ Intervention-specific costs account for <10% of total costs of bronchiolitis admissions, with NGH having a small cost saving across all sites.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2017
Impact of an education session on clinical handover between medical shifts in an emergency department: A pilot study.
To evaluate the impact of a medical education session on the implementation of a new change of shift medical clinical handover format in an urban hospital ED. ⋯ Time pressures need to be taken into consideration when introducing changes to current processes. Also, it is recommended that, in addition to ongoing education, senior clinicians are engaged during the planning and execution stages of changes to practice.