Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
-
Emerg Med Australas · Jun 2021
Estimating the proportion of patients who transition to long-term opioid use following oxycodone initiation in the emergency department.
To report the number of patients discharged from ED with oxycodone immediate release (IR) over 12 months and estimate the proportion who potentially transition to long-term opioid use and subsequent injectable heroin use. ⋯ Modelling opioid use behaviour in an ED population demonstrated the potential development of unintentional long-term opioid use, and associated harms. Prospective study is required to fully understand trajectories of patients dispensed outpatient therapy from Australian EDs.
-
Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2021
Observational StudyAfter-hours emergency department care: Does time or day of arrival affect survival?
To determine whether after-hours presentation to EDs is associated with differences in 7-day and 30-day mortality. The influence of patient case-mix and workforce staffing differences are also explored. ⋯ After-hours presentation on the weekend to an ED is associated with higher 7-day mortality even after controlling for case-mix.
-
Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2021
ReviewReview article: Developing the Australian and New Zealand Guideline for Mild to Moderate Head Injuries in Children: An adoption/adaption approach.
The Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative (PREDICT) released the Australian and New Zealand Guideline for Mild to Moderate Head Injuries in Children in 2021. We describe innovative and practical methods used to develop this guideline. Informed by GRADE-ADOLOPMENT and ADAPTE frameworks, we adopted or adapted recommendations from multiple high-quality guidelines or developed de novo recommendations. ⋯ The final guideline consisted of 35 evidence-informed and 17 consensus-based recommendations and 19 practice points. An algorithm to inform imaging and observation decision-making was also developed. The resulting process was an efficient and rigorous way to develop a guideline based on existing high-quality guidelines from different settings.
-
Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2021
Multicenter StudyEpidemiology and clinical features of emergency department patients with suspected COVID-19: Insights from Australia's 'second wave' (COVED-4).
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 during Australia's 'second wave'. ⋯ In this prospective multi-site study during Australia's 'second wave', a substantial proportion of ED presentations required SARS-CoV-2 testing and isolation. Presence of SARS-CoV-2 on nasopharyngeal swab was associated with an increase in the odds of death and mechanical ventilation in hospital.