Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2021
Comparing propofol with placebo for early resolution of acute migraine in adult emergency department patients: A double-blind randomised controlled trial.
To compare propofol with placebo in adult ED patients with acute migraine. Primary outcome was headache resolution by 1 h. Secondary outcome was reduction in headache severity by two or more points on a numerical rating scale. ⋯ Propofol was not superior to placebo for the primary outcome of early headache resolution. Superiority of propofol for the secondary outcome of headache severity reduction suggests that further research may be warranted.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2021
Advanced natural language processing technique to predict patient disposition based on emergency triage notes.
To demonstrate the potential of machine learning and capability of natural language processing (NLP) to predict disposition of patients based on triage notes in the ED. ⋯ Machine learning and NLP can be together applied to the ED triage note to predict patient disposition with a high level of accuracy. The algorithm can potentially assist ED clinicians in early identification of patients requiring admission by mitigating the cognitive load, thus optimises resource allocation in EDs.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2021
Discordance between patient-reported and actual emergency department pain management.
To determine patient knowledge of the nature of their pain management in the ED. ⋯ Patients are often unaware of the nature of their pain management. They are most often unaware of management other than analgesia. Patients with chest pain and lower triage pain scores had the least knowledge of their pain management.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2021
Residential aged care homes: Why do they call '000'? A study of the emergency prehospital care of older people living in residential aged care homes.
To describe the clinical characteristics, medical interventions and patterns of ambulance service use related to the emergency, prehospital care of older people living in residential aged care (RAC) homes. ⋯ This is the first study to describe emergency prehospital care, case-mix and intervention of frail, older people living in RAC. These results demonstrate a clinically complex group of people with high rates of comorbidity, cognitive impairment and polypharmacy. These valuable data will inform education and training of prehospital clinicians, assist in targeting preventative medicine and primary care programmes and further development of alternate, acute and emergency care pathways for this unique patient group.
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Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2021
Estimating the frequency and cost of emergency department presentations and hospitalisation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients: A retrospective analysis from regional Queensland.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients commonly have frequent visits to the ED. Consequently, COPD has a significant effect on total healthcare expenditure. The objective was to measure the frequency of ED presentation and hospitalisation among COPD patients and to estimate the costs resulting from such care utilisation. ⋯ COPD patient presentation to ED and admission to hospital is an expensive method of providing healthcare to manage this chronic condition. Clinical practitioners and policy makers need to develop and implement optimal integrated care management systems to reduce this hospitalisation rate and reduce the societal costs associated with COPD patient management.