Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2021
Identifying and quantifying general practice-type emergency department presentations.
This research aims to (i) identify general practice-type (GP-type) presentations to EDs in South-East Queensland, Australia and (ii) compare and quantify the clinical, socio-demographic and time-varying characteristics between GP-type and non-GP-type presentations. ⋯ Existing methods for identifying GP-type presentations have drawbacks, and modified methods are required to better identify these types of presentations. Temporal effects not previously investigated in Australian studies, such as holidays, are significantly associated with GP-type presentations. These findings aid strategic planning and interventions to support review of GP-type presentations, instead, in primary-care facilities, and such interventions may be assistive in some EDs more than others.
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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2021
Observational StudyCharacteristics, presentation and outcomes of music festival patrons with stimulant drug-induced serotonin toxicity.
A large number of stimulant drug-associated deaths at music festivals in Australia were reported during the southern hemisphere summer of 2018-2019. This led to the prehospital deployment of healthcare professional-led critical care response teams. We aimed to describe the characteristics, clinical presentation, management and outcomes of music festival patrons with stimulant drug-induced serotonin toxicity managed using this model during the study period. ⋯ Severe illness was associated with a high incidence of end-organ impairment. A high proportion of patients without severe disease were able to be successfully managed at the event without transport to hospital. No deaths are reported in this series.