Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2021
ReviewReview article: Implicit bias towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients within Australian emergency departments.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to suffer adverse experiences in healthcare, with inequitable care prevalent in emergency settings. Individual, institutional and systemic factors play a significant part in these persisting healthcare disparities, with biases remaining entrenched in healthcare institutions. ⋯ Furthermore, it may contribute to distrust of medical professionals resulting in higher rates of leave events and hinder racial minorities from seeking care or following treatment recommendations. The aim of this review is to analyse the effect of implicit bias on patient outcomes in the ED in international literature and explore how these studies correlate to an Australian context.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2021
Association between potential primary care emergency service and general practitioner care utilisation in New South Wales.
To examine patterns of potential primary care (PPC) ED presentations and any association between PPC ED presentations and frequency of general practitioner (GP) care utilisation in New South Wales, Australia. ⋯ GP care utilisation was associated with reduced risk for any PPC ED presentations after adjusting for comorbidity index and the other factors.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2021
Multicenter StudyEpidemiology and clinical features of emergency department patients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19: A multisite report from the COVED Quality Improvement Project for July 2020 (COVED-3).
The aim of the present study was to describe the epidemiology and clinical features of patients presenting to the ED with suspected and confirmed COVID-19. ⋯ In this prospective multi-site study from July 2020, a substantial proportion of ED patients required SARS-CoV-2 testing, isolation and enhanced infection prevention and control precautions. Presence of SARS-CoV-2 on nasopharyngeal swab was not associated with death or mechanical ventilation.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2021
ReviewReview article: Up (to) date for Australian Toxicology and Toxinology guidelines.
Poisoned patients commonly present to EDs. The optimal management of these patients is constantly evolving as new evidence emerges. Textbooks cannot be updated regularly enough to incorporate these changes, and their advice may not reflect the current practice of experts. ⋯ Important key changes include: updated advice on decontamination, particularly use of activated charcoal; stepwise escalation in supportive care, including guidance on the most appropriate inotropes for each agent and antidote recommendations for specific poisoning scenarios. Toxicology and Toxinology covers more than 100 poisoning topics and offers more detailed risk assessment, management and disposition advice. It is a valuable evidence-based resource for the management of poisoned patients.