Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2024
Observational StudyCellulitis in the Emergency Department: A prospective cohort study with patient-centred follow-up.
There is substantial practice variation in the management of cellulitis with limited prospective studies describing the course of cellulitis after diagnosis. We aimed to describe the demographics, clinical features (erythema, warmth, swelling and pain), patient-reported disease trajectory and medium-term follow-up for ED patients with cellulitis. ⋯ A clinical response of cellulitis features can be expected at day 3 with ongoing slower improvement over time. Over one third of patients had erythema or swelling at day 14. Patients are less likely than clinicians to deem their cellulitis cured at day 14. Future research should include parallel patient and clinician evaluation of cellulitis to help develop clearer definitions of treatment failure and cure.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2024
Clinical significance of an elevated on-admission beta-hydroxybutyrate in acutely ill adult patients without diabetes.
To determine the relationship between point-of-care β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) concentration and outcomes in adult patients without diabetes admitted through ED. ⋯ Routine BHB measurement in patients without diabetes does not add to clinical bedside assessment and use should be limited to when required to confirm a clinical impression.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2024
Reducing medication errors on emergency department discharge: Evaluation of a collaborative pharmacist-medical officer discharge prescription planning model in a tertiary hospital emergency short stay unit.
To implement and evaluate the impact of a collaborative pharmacist-medical officer model of planning discharge prescriptions, Partnered Pharmacist Discharge Prescription Planning (PPDPP) on the safe use of medicines on discharge in an ED short stay unit (SSU). ⋯ The PPDPP model improved medications safety on discharge from the ED SSU. The PPDPP did not impact patient flow parameters as measured in this study.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2024
Has the rescheduling of modified-release paracetamol in Australia affected the frequency of overdoses?
In June 2020, modified-release paracetamol (paracetamol-MR) preparations were up-scheduled from schedule-2 (available in pharmacy) to schedule-3 (available by request to a pharmacist only). The present study aims to ascertain whether up-scheduling affected the frequency of paracetamol-MR overdoses. ⋯ The proportion of paracetamol-MR overdoses did not decrease after the up-scheduling to S3. Similarly, the frequency of overdoses by month remained similar. Further limitations on access to paracetamol products may need to be considered.
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2024
Safety of pre-hospital peripheral vasopressors: The SPOTLESS study (Safety of PrehOspiTaL pEripheral vaSopreSsors).
To assess the safety and effectiveness of peripheral vasoactive drugs initiated during pre-hospital care and retrieval missions, in Queensland, Australia. ⋯ In this retrospective data set there were no major complications of peripheral vasoactive drugs. Minor complications were similar to in-hospital use and related to vascular access and drug delivery.