Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Nov 2024
The diagnostic utility of prehospital hyperglycaemia in major trauma patients: An observational study.
Stress-induced hyperglycaemia (SIH) is an elevated blood glucose level (≥11.1 mmol/L) in patients experiencing physiological stress, in the absence of diabetes mellitus. Although early in-hospital SIH has been associated with worse outcomes following major trauma, the predictive value of SIH in the prehospital setting has not been established. To investigate the role of prehospital SIH as a predictor of in-hospital mortality following major trauma. ⋯ The present study demonstrated an association between prehospital SIH and in-hospital mortality following major trauma. Further prospective research is warranted to examine the utility and integration of prehospital SIH into predicting models of trauma care.
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Emerg Med Australas · Nov 2024
Impact of the Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine on an emergency department.
To assess the impact of the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine roll-out on an ED. Primary outcomes are ED length of stay (LOS), investigation ordering and costs. Secondary measures are compliance with the Thrombosis and Haemostasis Society of Australia and New Zealand (THANZ) Vaccine-Induced Thrombotic Thrombocytopaenia Syndrome (VITT) guidelines. ⋯ A high number of young, low acuity patients presented to the ED with AZ vaccine concerns and were associated with financial and workload implications. The quantity of ED presentations appears to be associated with vaccine administration rates. There was poor compliance with the THANZ guidelines, and they appear to have contributed to the high volume of investigations.