Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2020
Epidemiology and clinical features of emergency department patients with suspected COVID-19: Initial results from the COVED Quality Improvement Project (COVED-1).
The COVID-19 Emergency Department (COVED) Quality Improvement Project aims to provide regular and real-time clinical information to ED clinicians caring for patients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19. The present study summarises data from the first 2 weeks of the study. ⋯ Among patients presenting to a tertiary ED with suspected COVID-19, only a small proportion tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Although the low incidence of positive cases currently precludes the development of predictive tools, the COVED Project demonstrates that the rapid establishment of an agile clinical registry for emergency care is feasible.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2020
Delphi assessment of audit and research priorities in an emergency department.
Audit and research projects in the ED are important to improve patient care but can be time and resource consuming. We identified and prioritised audit and research topics among multidisciplinary ED staff to fill perceived knowledge gaps, encourage engagement, reduce duplication and facilitate translation of evidence into clinical practice. ⋯ This Delphi study has provided departmental audit and research priorities that are perceived to be of importance across the multidisciplinary ED team. This methodology allows strategic allocation of limited resources and may increase staff engagement.
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Wong briefly summarises COVID pharmaceutical therapies that are currently in trial, and importantly have received media attention.
Highlighting that off-label use of these drugs may be important causes of future toxicological presentations to emergency departments, especially for those widely used in the community for other indications (eg. Plaquenil, Kaletra, colchicine...).
Briefly discussed are:
- Chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine
- Azithromycin
- Kaletra (Lopinavir/ritonavir)
- Colchicine
- Ivermectin
- Tocilizumab
- Thaildomide
- Remdesivir
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2020
Domestic and family violence, non-lethal strangulation and social work intervention in the emergency department.
To review domestic and family violence (DFV) and non-lethal strangulation (NLS) presentations to an ED with 24-h social work. ⋯ Social work referral for DFV is regularly missed despite 24-h access. Assessment of NLS in ED requires improvement and standardised national guidelines.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2020
Shetty test in ankle and foot trauma: An emergency department pilot study assessing specificity and sensitivity.
To assess the potential impact of the Shetty test over Ottawa ankle foot rules (OAFR) on plain imaging utilisation in the ED. ⋯ Shetty test may safely reduce unneeded radiographs in ED. Further research is warranted.