Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2022
A mixed methods investigation of behavioural drivers influencing Emergency Department attendance in Victoria during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
To identify behavioural drivers and barriers that may have contributed to changes in ED attendance during the first 10 months of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Victoria. ⋯ Patients expressed increased concerns around attending ED during the first 10 months of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and frequently cited COVID-19 as a reason for delaying their presentation. These factors would be amenable to mitigation via focussed public health messaging.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2022
Documentation of paediatric head injuries in a mixed metropolitan emergency department.
Head injuries are a common presentation of children to Australian EDs. Healthcare documentation is an important tool for enhancing patient care. In our study, we aimed to assess the adequacy of paediatric head injury documentation in a mixed ED. ⋯ The largest gaps in the documentation of paediatric head injuries were BP and paediatric GCS in infants. Future audits and educational strategies should focus on targeting clinically relevant items that are predictive of serious outcomes.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2022
Emergency department utilisation by patients with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder: An acute response to a chronic disorder.
Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are likely to attend the ED while experiencing crises and associated self-injury and suicidality. Our study describes the prevalence, features, and outcomes associated with ED presentations by patients diagnosed with BPD in Outer Eastern Melbourne, Australia. ⋯ Repeated ED attendance of a subset of patients diagnosed with BPD highlights both the severity of their presentation and the inadequacy of community mental health services for meeting their complex needs. Development of effective ED referral pathways with follow-up to engage patients in BPD-appropriate treatment will reduce the likelihood of crises and reliance on hospital EDs for acute episodic care.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2022
Attitudes and regard for specific medical conditions among Australian emergency medicine clinicians.
To quantify the attitude ED clinicians hold towards patients presenting with different medical conditions, including a novel pandemic condition. ⋯ Emergency doctors and nurses generally hold lower regard for complex medical conditions with behavioural components, including substance use disorders and somatoform conditions.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2022
Preventable presentations of older adults to emergency departments: General practitioners' perspectives.
To describe general practitioners' (GP) perspectives of older patients presenting to the ED, reasons they would refer to the ED and how they utilise community services to help manage older adults. ⋯ GPs reported they would have been able to manage a significant proportion of older adults who presented to the ED in the community without referring to the ED. Severe and acute illness requiring urgent evaluation and intervention was the main reason GPs would refer to the ED.